Why do we need alternative energy sources?
In the era of the European energy crisis, which has been giving Poles a hard time since 2022 – with the onset of Russian aggression against Ukraine – the topic of Poland’s security and raw material independence has once again entered the public debate [1]. Experts in legal and technical sciences are once again trying to answer the question of how to implement economic and fiscal mechanisms through which the negative effects of rising energy prices can be cushioned, especially for the poorest? Where, in the midst of geopolitical turmoil, to find safe, clean, cheap and efficient energy sources? There are many, often very ambitious hopes for the development of hydrogen propulsion technology. Only by means of a rational decision-making process – backed up by research and thorough expert discussions – will European countries be able to regain their energy independence and thus strengthen their weight in the international geopolitical arena. One of the considerations that is increasingly emerging in public discourse is the use of hydrogen as a fuel to power electric vehicles and appliances.
Hydrogen as a fuel – not so new at all
Hydrogen vehicles are not, contrary to popular belief, a 21st or 20th century invention. As early as 1807, François Isaac de Rivaz, a Swiss mechanical engineer, designed and assembled the first hydrogen powered railway vehicle [2]. de Rivaz’s engine was also revolutionary for other reasons, namely that it was one of the first internal combustion engines in which the key element was a combustion chamber in the cylinder, in which the piston was moved by the explosion of a mixture of hydrogen and air. In later years, de Rivaz refined his vehicle, and in 1813 he completed a machine that was 6 metres long and weighed almost a tonne. Each movement of the cylinder moved the vehicle four to six metres. The following centuries saw the gradual, but by no means dynamic, development of the technology for using hydrogen as an alternative fuel. In the 20th century, the concept of using hydrogen in liquid form began to be taken seriously. Today, at the time of the aforementioned energy crisis, the words of the American designer Igor Sikorski, delivered in 1938 during a lecture before the American Institution of Electrical Engineers, seem particularly important: ‘If a method for the safe and economical production and storage of liquid hydrogen for fuel were developed, it would result in a great change, especially in the field of long-distance aviation. It would make it possible to fly around the equator without refuelling. It would also make it possible to increase the efficiency of almost any engine” [3]. Even Jules Verne, who included a dialogue between characters in his 1875 novel The Mysterious Island, contributed to some extent to the popularisation of the hydrogen power concept,
“- How so! They will burn water under steam boilers, they will heat water with water?
– ‘Yes, but with water, decomposed into its constituent parts,’ replied the engineer, ‘and decomposed, it seems, by means of electricity, which will then become strong, powerful and obedient to the will of man. Yes, my friends, I believe that water will one day serve as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen, whether each separately or combined together, will become an inexhaustible source of such powerful heat and light as coal cannot give out!” [4].
Hydrogen fuels – a rescue or a foray for the Earth?
Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on earth, being, together with oxygen, the basic component of water. Scientists concerned with the future of the planned energy transition emphasise its beneficial chemical and physical properties, and given the wide availability of hydrogen, as mentioned earlier, technological progress in using it as an alternative fuel should be watched all the more closely [5]. Above all, the issues related to atmospheric emissions deserve attention. Until recently, hydrogen fuels were seen in the scientific community as a great green alternative to fossil fuels – coal and oil. In 2009, this thesis was challenged by research carried out by scientists from the Krakow-based Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who developed a new method for measuring hydrogen content in the air [6]. At the time, they warned of the possibility of a negative impact of too widespread use of this element in the energy industry, which could lead to its excessive concentration in the atmosphere and, consequently, to an increase in the greenhouse effect. Until recently, hydrogen was promoted as a fully clean source that leaves only water as a by-product, while releasing relatively more energy for the same weight than the widely used lithium batteries used today. According to the recent report Fugitive Hydrogen Emissions in a Future Hydrogen Economy by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, commissioned by the UK authorities, hydrogen going directly into the atmosphere can interact with other gases and amplify global warming [7].
Hydrogen colours
The Institute for Chemical Processing of Coal reports that hydrogen is currently divided into three categories: grey, blue and green [8]. Green hydrogen is considered the most desirable from the point of view of energy and zero-emission transport, as it is produced by processes using energy from renewable sources such as water electrolysis. Grey hydrogen, currently the most widely used in Poland, is produced by a production method during which fossil fuels are present, resulting in very high emissions (above 9 kg CO2/kg H2). This procedure is often modified with additional CO2 capture, which partially reduces the emissivity – blue is used to label such hydrogen. In addition, terms such as turquoise hydrogen – obtained during methane pyrolysis or by processing waste plastics – also appear in popular scientific terminology. This method results in limited carbon dioxide emissions, while it is not – as in the case of ‘green’ energy – completely emission-free. The creativity of some circles in coming up with colours knows no end – for example, in the Netherlands, the colour ‘orange’ is used to describe green hydrogen, which was produced entirely from energy from Dutch photovoltaic and wind power plants [9]. In the case of hydrogen produced with energy from nuclear power plants, the term purple has become accepted.
The representative of the Polish authorities noted at the international conference ‘One step for energy transformation, a huge leap for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)’ that the discussion about the ‘colours’ of hydrogen currently taking place in the media is interesting, but also misleading. Strategic decisions should not be guided by ‘colours’, but rather by the level of carbon dioxide emissions that are produced during the hydrogen production process, he noted at the same time that hydrogen has great potential in Poland’s and Europe’s energy transformation, especially in the context of promising technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in specific end uses [10].
Hydrogen in Polish law
The issue of legal norms related to hydrogen energy concerns, among other things, the regulation of the status of vehicles powered by this element. According to the law of 11 January 2018 on electromobility and alternative fuels, more specifically the definition of ‘alternative fuel’ in Article 2(11), alternative fuels are defined as ‘electricity or fuels used to power engines:
(a) motor vehicles within the meaning of Article 2(32) of the Act of 20 June 1997. – Road Traffic Law,
(b) rail vehicles
(c) vessels
– as a substitute for fuels derived from crude oil or obtained from its processing, in particular hydrogen, liquid biofuels, synthetic and paraffinic fuels, compressed natural gas (CNG), including from biomethane, liquefied natural gas (LNG), including from biomethane, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)”.
In addition, the above-mentioned Act also defines the term ‘hydrogen powered vehicle‘ in Article 2(15) as a motor vehicle within the meaning of Article 2(32) of the Act of 20 June 1997. – Road Traffic Law, a rail vehicle or a vessel, using for propulsion the electric energy generated from hydrogen in the fuel cells installed in them’ and the term ‘hydrogen station’ as an assembly of equipment, including a hydrogen refuelling point with the necessary auxiliary infrastructure and storage tanks, used for the refuelling of hydrogen. The above is supported by a number of other definitions, also using the legal-administrative method of regulation. Among other things, the legislator has standardised the types of technical tests of hydrogen stations that are carried out by the Office of Technical Inspection. According to Article 29c(1) of the said Act, hydrogen stations, with regard to their safe operation, repair and modernisation, are subject to technical tests conducted by the Office of Technical Inspection or, where they are installed in railway areas, railway sidings, on the territory of ports and marinas and inland waterways, by the TDT. According to paragraph 2 of this Article, this test shall be carried out before the hydrogen station is placed in service and in the case of repair or refurbishment (with the exception of a repair resulting from the manufacturer’s or his authorised representative’s instructions for use).
From the perspective of hydrogen as a fuel under discussion, the provisions of the Act of 25 August 2006 on the system for monitoring and controlling fuel quality, which is a partial implementation of EU directives, are relevant. Already in Article 2, the Act mentions hydrogen as one of the defining elements of fuel. The effect of such a standardisation translates into the importance of the whole of the said normative act for the legal status of hydrogen. However, for the sake of a proper understanding of the provisions, the Act introduces a separate, strict definition of hydrogen, which, despite its incompatibility with the chemical sciences, aims to preserve the proper normative order. According to Article 2(10a), the statutory ‘hydrogen’ is exclusively hydrogen ‘intended for the propulsion of a vehicle using electricity generated from hydrogen in fuel cells installed therein, designated by CN code 2804 10 00’.
Summary
Although mankind has for many decades pinned great hopes on the development of alternative fuels, most notably hydrogen power, one cannot help but feel that the doctrinal views in this regard are not at all clear-cut [11]. New research shows that even green hydrogen produced in a clean, emission-free way can – if it is popularised too widely – cause numerous dangers for the atmosphere, the climate and the environment. This raises questions about the possibility of using hydrogen as an alternative fuel in the context of specialised fields, not necessarily as a substitute for the fuels used in passenger cars. Bearing in mind the protection of the environment and the progressive “green transition”, it is worth thinking about the extent to which the main reason for lagging behind is technological constraints and the extent to which social habits and habits.
Maciej Szmigiero, PhD in Law, attorney at law
cooperation: Aleksander Horyń, 4th year student at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw
[1] https://poland.representation.ec.europa.eu/news/walka-z-kryzysem-energetycznym-2022-10-07_pl
[2] https://wynalazki.andrej.edu.pl/wynalazcy/57-r/996-rivaz
[3] https://kapitalpolski.pl/wykorzystanie-wodoru-w-gospodarce/
[4] J.G. Verne, The Mysterious Island, Warsaw 2018
[5] M. Graff, Hydrogen as a fuel – advantages and disadvantages, TTS Technika Transportu Szynowego, R 27, no. 5-6, Radom 2020, pp. 16-28
[6] https://naukawpolsce.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C358619%2Cwodor-moze-byc-niebezpieczny-dla-klimatu.html
[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fugitive-hydrogen-emissions-in-a-future-hydrogen-economy
[8] https://www.teraz-srodowisko.pl/aktualnosci/wodor-kolor-strategia-wodorowa-analiza-Forum-Energii-9934.html
[9] https://www.gramwzielone.pl/energia-sloneczna/105688/holendrzy-wyprodukuja-wodor-z-pomoca-fotowoltaiki
[10] https://laboratoryjnie.pl/2021/02/14/ministrowie-klimatu-i-srodowiska-podczas-konferencji-wodorowej/
[11] https://knaufautomotive.com/pl/zalety-i-wady-paliwa-wodorowego-do-samochodu/
SOURCES:
– legal acts:
- Act of 11 January 2018 on electromobility and alternative fuels (Journal of Laws 2022, item 1083, as amended).
- Act of 25 August 2006 on the system of monitoring and controlling fuel quality (Journal of Laws 2022, item 1315, as amended).
- Act of 20 June 1997. – Road Traffic Law. (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 988, as amended).
– other:
- Chmielniak T., Hydrogen energy, Warsaw 2020,
- Dorociak M., Maciej Tomecki, Hydrogen. Paliwo przyszłości, Warsaw 2019,
Surygała J., Hydrogen as fuel, Warsaw 2007.
