1 kg of hydrogen plus 8 kg of oxygen will form 9 kg (9 litres) of water
Desalination plants consume huge quantities of power to produce fresh water from sea water. A hydrogen power plant will produce power and significant qualities of fresh water. In addition, a hydrogen power plant does not need to be located on the coast. Hydrogen therefore enables the decentralisation of power & water production, as it can be located in more economically suitable locations, closer to the domestic or farming communities (where the biogas resources are located) or the oil and gas fields.
Biogas reformed in geothermal wells improves power production and district heating (via CO2 use and thermal boosting as in our CIGG model) and also generates a hydrogen for additional power, which then becomes a water source. The produced warm water would pass through district heating prior to distribution, improving energy recovery efficiency.
As an example, for an arid land, a hydrogen power plant near urban hydroponic or farming areas will also supply water to them, supplementing irrigation water for farmers and helping the desert flower.
Depending on the size (MWh) of the hydrogen power plants, the threat of geopolitical water wars would lessen, as the rivers and dams (potentially located in neighbouring countries) would not be the only national water source. This not only improves water security but also, through better regional irrigation, would improve food security.
Hydrogen power plants also have the ability to reduce the severity of any droughts in western communities, supplementing water supplies to farms and housing. Alternatively, the hydrogen or geothermal power company could also choose to send the hydrogen produced water to the utility companies.
All this is possible through the wellbore gasification of natural gas or biogas (CH4 + CO2) with the additional simultaneous downhole injection of the reformation produced carbon.
Instead of shipping greenhouse gases and pollutants (oil & gas) across the country, or internationally, it is possible to generate a clean source of power and water close to the end user.
An Illustrative Example
When used as part of a fuel cell, 1 kg of hydrogen can typically produce 33 kWh of electrical energy (i.e., 1 MWh is equivalent to ~ 31 kg/hr of Hydrogen, which in turn will produce ~31 * 9 * 24 = ~6,600 litres water/day).
[Ref.: https://www.idealhy.eu/index.php?page=lh2_outline]
To put this into perspective, according to UK Energy, a typical domestic household in the UK consumes about 258 kWh per month. This is equivalent to (258/33 =) 8 kg of hydrogen per month (i.e., a 1 MWh power station could therefore supply approximately (1000 * 24 * 30)/258 = 2,800 households with energy per 30-day month).
[Ref.: https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/energy-industry/watt-powers.htm]
Each person in a Danish household uses an average of 106 litres/day (for a 5.8 MM population in Denmark that is approximately 615 MM litres/day). The Average Danish water costs = DKK 0.063 per litre.
[Ref.: https://www.danva.dk/media/4664/water_in_figures_2015.pdf]
For these typical Danish power stations, when hypothetically using hydrogen as the only power source, this could provide a total fresh water output of 33,000 m3/day, equivalent to 5% of the national domestic requirement of approximately 615,000 m3/day.
| Station | Place | Coordinates | Capacity (MW) | Fuel | When Using Hydrogen as Fuel
Water Produced (m³/day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fyn Power Station | Odense | 55°25’47.3″N 10°24’39.6″E | 632 | Coal, biomass, municipal waste | 4,200 |
| Asnæs Power Station | Kalundborg | 55°39’40.7″N 11°04’44.2″E | 1,057 | Coal | 7,000 |
| Studstrup Power Station | Studstrup | 56°15’0.7″N 10°20’41.4″E | 700 | Biomass | 4,700 |
| Nordjylland Power Station | Aalborg | 57°04’29.9″N 10°02’21.8″E | 741 | Coal | 4,900 |
| Avedøre Power Station | Avedøre | 55.602761°N 12.47925°E | 810 | Coal, biomass | 5,400 |
| Esbjerg Power Station | Esbjerg | 55°27’16.5″N 8°27’19.1″E | 378 | Coal | 2,500 |
| Viborg Power Station | Viborg | 56°28’25.88″N 9°24’54.4″E | 57 | Natural gas | 400 |
| Lisbjerg Power Station | Lisbjerg | 56°13’40″N 10°09’30″E | 154 | Biomass, municipal waste | 1,000 |
| Skærbæk Power Station | Skærbæk | 55°30’40″N 9°36’47.6″E | 392 | Natural gas | 2,600 |
[Ref.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Denmark]
The United Nations Water Conference (March 2023)
In many global regions, water is a sparse and valuable commodity; inevitably water losses during geothermal power fluid circulation can present a severe economic liability and social burden. Through use of deeper water reservoirs with higher salinity connate water, or CO2 from carbon capture, as the power fluid, the impacts on drinking water reserves are minimised. The main benefits of using CO2 as the geothermal power fluid are improved energy efficiency and reduced corrosion (water is corrosive, corroding and scaling piping and turbine blades, especially if it is saturated with minerals).
[Ref.: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/water2023]
This UN aims at addressing these same water issues on a global scale. There is reduced water availability and increased demand, from urban and industrial growth to agriculture, which alone consumes 70 per cent of the world’s supply. Water resources and how they are managed impact almost all aspects of sustainable development, including the United Nations’ 17 SDGs. Current investments must be quadrupled to meet the annual estimated $600 billion to $1 trillion required to realize SDG 6, on water and sanitation.
[Ref.: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/03/1134862]
Hydrogen power via the reformation of hydrocarbons (either natural gas and/or biogas) combined with the capture of carbon (CCS), will reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing access to water. Cooperation is the heart of sustainable development, and by taking advantage of the synergies that exist within Energy- Agriculture-Biowaste-Landfill-Power-Environment-Water these costs can be better managed, and budgets reduced on our road map to holistically achieving SDGs 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, & 15.
[Ref. UNSDG = United Nations Sustainable Development Goals : https://sdgs.un.org/goals]
