[ column ]
Hydrogen fuel cells and backup power : advancing energy resilience
By Chris Tully
Global electricity demand is projected to grow substantially , with the economies of India and China seeing the greatest increases . Many factors come into play , including the proliferation of electric vehicles , data center expansions driven by artificial intelligence , the conversion to highly efficient heat pumps for heating , and the overall transition to decarbonize .
Meet the columnist Chris Tully is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience in the power and hydrogen fuel cell industries . Chris was an early employee at Valere Power , a start-up in the telecom power industry . He also spent time with General Electric in Texas before joining Plug Power as the Vice President of Sales in 2014 . At Plug , Chris was involved with all aspects of the hydrogen ecosystem , including fuel cells , service , infrastructure , and the hydrogen molecule . Chris lives in Richmond , Virginia , and is currently an independent consultant and founder of ANDnotOR . info .
At the same time , powerful weather events have increased due to the impact of warming oceans , rising sea levels , and shifting storm patterns associated with climate change . The number of storms spiked 21 % in the last 50 years , according to NASA . More striking , the occurrence of violent category 4 or 5 hurricanes has nearly doubled in the same timeframe .
This comes at a time when the aging electrical infrastructure of transmission and distribution lines needs to be expanded and upgraded . Maintenance of these lines must increase as weather-related events contribute to 83 % of major outages . All of these factors combine to create a fragile grid and an unreliable supply of cost-effective power , at a time when the appetite for electricity is on the rise .
Global utility adaptations
Globally , utility companies are taking steps to keep pace with the changing landscape by diversifying energy production , including renewables , hydroelectric , nuclear , and natural gas . Deploying energy storage with batteries to complement solar and wind production is now common . Implementing smart grid technology leveraging AI to more effectively match production with consumption has begun .
Governments are investing heavily in transmission projects . The Changji- Guquan high-voltage DC network in China will connect the Changji region with Guquan , 3,200 kilometers away . In the United States , the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act allocated $ 30 billion to expand transmission capacity and link regions in North America .
All of these initiatives are noble but only address production , transmission , and distribution . They do not adequately diversify the grid at the point of energy consumption .
Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 19 | December 2024 43