The possibility of participating in the energy transition

Ricardo Lauretta

08/01/2021 17:15

• Clarín.com

• Opinion

Updated 08/01/2021 21:35

This year, the International Energy Agency published the report “Net Zero by 2050”, which presents the goals considered necessary to avoid or mitigate future environmental catastrophes.

In parallel, the report sets very ambitious goals;

taking into account the scant response that the international community has so far given to initiatives of this type.

At some point, fossil fuels will have to stop being used due to their exhaustion, or much earlier, due to the disastrous effect of the pollution they produce. Whether this happens before 2050 will depend on a strong will and determination that all nations must adopt.

We wouldn't be talking seriously about energy transition if it weren't for the explosion of new technologies that are constantly breaking onto the world stage.

Many new technological adventures can still be expected, which will surely bring us closer and closer to a less polluted and more livable world.

However, with the technologies currently available, and applying them on a sufficiently large scale, it would already be possible to achieve competitive conditions that determine the possibility of gradually substituting fossil fuels with renewable forms of energy.

How should you continue to adhere to the guidelines of this plan?

Hydrogen can help build a response, as it is a fuel that can be used to better harness renewable energy sources.

In this case, we speak of “green hydrogen”, like that obtained by electrolysis from a renewable energy source and that can make a significant contribution to the decarbonization of industrial processes, in land, sea and air transport. It is also true that hydrogen, even when it does not come from renewable sources, can serve to mitigate pollution in cities and in places where it is used.

Argentina has a large amount of renewable energy resources with the capacity to produce hydrogen on a large scale, which could be used in local applications such as transportation and industry. In turn, its surplus could be exported, which would help position the country as an important energy producer, and transform a global need into an opportunity for national development; which would generate qualified jobs, professional training and promote the production of high value-added goods.

At the national level, many universities are beginning to get involved in the subject.

The ITBA is one of these cases, because for years its laboratories have been working on the production of hydrogen by high pressure electrolysis, without the use of compressors;

in order to improve efficiency, simplify installations and reduce investment costs.

Likewise, high pressure hydrogen storage systems are being developed and their application in advanced internal combustion engines.

This market is incipient and there is still a long way to go: government determination will be essential to bring together the efforts generated, together with the contribution of private activity, and promote the implementation of this great project.

It is then clear that natural resources and professional capacity abound.

Ricardo Lauretta is a teacher and head of the ITBA Energy Laboratory