A peek at the energy future of our planet

ERSU ABLAK

For years, scientists, policymakers and executives from many industries have been looking at ways to realize a more sustainable future. Almost all agree that we cannot go on using carbon fuels for everything if we want to no longer harm our world. So far there have been many technologies marketed as the future savior of mankind. People suggested we should build ships that would cool down waters or we should make sunscreens for our atmosphere. However, none seems feasible for now. Transition from a petroleum-based economy to a hydrogen one is considered as one of the most probable routes to take.
Hydrogen is not an energy source like petroleum. However, it is one of the best energy carriers. If you can produce energy, you can store and transport it in the form of hydrogen. When it is fed and used by the engine or heater as fuel, it does not produce any carbon footprint. Hydrogen cars and buses are being tried out in various cities around the world. They are also tested by armies worldwide. A hydrogen engine is environmentally friendly and it is also silent and does not produce a heat signature. As you can imagine, it is a wonderful thought for generals to have a hydrogen plane or tank.
Hydrogen as a fuel is at the core of key technologies that will facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy in the future. Because its most common production process through electrolysis has an energy cost comparable to its yield it is nowadays most often envisioned as a medium for the temporary storage and transportation of the energy produced from renewable sources, such as wind and sun.
Professor Nejat Veziroğlu is the leading scientist in the field of hydrogen-based technologies. With his amazing efforts UNIDO-ICHET Hydrogen Research Center was founded in Istanbul. Through them many cutting-edge technologies are being tried out by Turkish municipalities.
The International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (ICHET) is a project of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) founded in Istanbul in 2004 and supported by the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR). Its role is to support, demonstrate and promote viable hydrogen energy technologies with the aims of enhancing future economic development, particularly in emerging countries, and of preventing the widening of the energy and technology gap while helping skip over the fossil fuel phase.
ICHET is organizing many workshops and conferences and contributing to the network of scientists and businessmen working toward a hydrogen future. Organized by UNIDO-ICHET, the First Black Sea Hydrogen Sulfide Workshop will take place Dec. 14 to 15 in Istanbul’s Green Park Hotel. This symposium will address a range of issues related to the technical and economical feasibility of industrial extraction of gaseous hydrogen from the hydrogen sulfides dissolved in the Black Sea.
I believe hydrogen is going to be the leading energy carrier in the future, and I strongly recommend you to take the time to visit the conference.