Is hydrogen energy the "ultimate energy" or a "big scam" in the 21st century?

Most of the people in the exhibition hall are industry insiders who come to conduct technical exchanges and find business partners. There are also a small number of tourists who come to visit, check in and take photos.

H2 MEET Pavilion

Hydrogen energy has attracted much attention as a clean energy with large reserves, low pollution, high calorific value and renewable energy, and is expected to be the "ultimate energy of the 21st century". At present, hydrogen energy is widely used, including transportation, industry, electricity, construction and other fields. In the field of transportation, hydrogen energy can be used as fuel cells for vehicles, ships, etc. In the industrial field, it can replace traditional energy to participate in multiple links of the chemical industry. In the construction field, it can replace traditional fuels for heating. In the field of power generation, hydrogen energy is converted into electricity through fuel cells. Of course, the most concerned thing is the development and application of hydrogen energy vehicles, which has to start with bigwigs such as Musk and Diess.

Musk once commented that hydrogen fuel cells are the most "stupid and bad technology". Volkswagen CEO Diess also said that "there will be no hydrogen-powered cars in 10 years because hydrogen is expensive, inefficient and difficult to deploy and transport". BYD founder Wang Chuanfu even publicly blasted hydrogen-powered cars as "evil trends". However, not everyone in the automotive industry agrees with their views. So far, companies such as Toyota and Hyundai have produced hydrogen fuel cell cars, while Riversimple, an independent hydrogen fuel cell car startup in the UK, is also developing hydrogen-powered cars, and the BMW Group has begun testing vehicles using hydrogen fuel cell drivetrains. Kang Nam-hoon, chairman of the H2 MEET organizing committee, said in a dialogue with Sohu Technology: "Hydrogen energy does face many challenges, such as high prices, high costs for building hydrogen refueling stations, and difficulties in storage and transportation. At this stage, I agree with Musk's opinion that hydrogen energy is ridiculous. After all, he is the CEO of a car manufacturer and needs to consider these issues." "But in the long run, many countries have announced that they will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Hydrogen energy will play an important role in mobile travel and environmental protection. As we all know, South Korea and Japan are short of natural resources and need to import energy. It would be great if South Korea could produce hydrogen in large quantities. We now have 24 nuclear power plants to produce hydrogen." Kang Nam-hoon added.

To find out, Sohu Technology went straight to the Korean Hyundai Motor Group, which had the largest booth this year, at the exhibition site. Hyundai Motor Group has four main exhibition areas, covering the entire process from hydrogen production to transportation to utilization. The first part is energy security. Hyundai Motor demonstrated South Korea's first circular hydrogen production equipment, which can produce 500 kilograms of clean hydrogen every day from biogas from public sewage treatment plants, food waste and livestock manure. Another part is the decarbonization of high-emission industrial complexes, especially in ports and airports. Hyundai Motor Company signed a cooperation agreement with Incheon International Airport last month and plans to expand hydrogen refueling stations in the airport area. They also provide hydrogen fuel cell trucks for the environmental transformation of North American ports. This truck is equipped with 9 hydrogen tanks, which can be filled with hydrogen for 25 minutes and can travel more than 700 kilometers, making it suitable for long-distance transportation. "This truck is very safe. Even if a car accident occurs, it will only leak hydrogen and will not explode." A technical expert from Hyundai Motor said.

Hyundai Group's hydrogen fuel truck with nine hydrogen tanks

In another exhibition area, Hydrogen Energy Network (HYNET), the largest hydrogen refueling station operator in South Korea, exhibited hydrogen refueling stations and tubular trailers for transporting gaseous hydrogen. It is understood that they operate a total of 55 hydrogen refueling stations across the country, and their safety has been confirmed. The head of HYNET said that Hyundai Motor Company's global hydrogen car NEXO can be refueled in 5 minutes through their hydrogen refueling stations, with a range of 600 kilometers. The range is at a normal level in the industry, but it is much faster than electric vehicles. After all, it usually takes about 2 or 3 hours to charge an electric car for the same mileage. It is reported that the current sales of NEXO are tens of thousands of units. In the first half of next year, Hyundai Motor Group will launch the second-generation hydrogen energy car, with a range of 800 kilometers.

Hyundai Hydrogen Energy Vehicle NEXO and HYNET's hydrogen refueling station

HYNET's tube trailer for transporting gaseous hydrogen

Hyundai Engineering Machinery Co., Ltd., which is participating in the exhibition for the first time this year, has launched a hydrogen fuel-generated power engine that can be installed in commercial trucks. However, it is currently in the trial operation stage and is expected to start full-scale mass production next year. 

Hydrogen fueled power generation engine

In addition, the Korean Kolon Group also exhibited key components of hydrogen fuel cells, including humidity control devices, and launched key materials for hydrogen fuel cells - PEM and MEA products. It is reported that the moisture control device developed by Kolon Industries will be supplied to NEXO of Hyundai Motor Group.

Kolon Group exhibits humidity control devices, PEM and MEA

Korea Zinc, which has participated in the H2 MEET event for three consecutive years, is committed to promoting "renewable energy and green hydrogen business". The hydrogen forklift on display can last for 4.5 hours after charging for 5 minutes.

Compared with diesel forklifts, which require 30L of fuel for the same 8-hour battery life, hydrogen forklifts only require 3.78Kg of fuel and do not emit carbon dioxide, which is environmentally friendly.

During the exhibition, we also communicated with many exhibitors and found that the number of booths of many small and medium-sized enterprises has increased significantly compared with previous years.

An exhibitor said: "We small and medium-sized companies provide fuel for the hydrogen energy industry. It is the gathering of parts provided by everyone that allows large companies to set up such large booths."

The large machine launched by SooKyungChemical can test the operation of positive and negative ions in hydrogen energy, and can be adjusted according to actual conditions. It has now been supplied to major companies, universities, and research institutes. It has a long service life and low cost.

The catalysts launched by MIRAE PMC can help fuel cells and achieve a cycle from waste to carbon, which is energy-saving and environmentally friendly.

Catalyst display from MIRAE PMC

ENERGY has realized the entire value chain of hydrogen energy, including the hydrogen supply stage of hydrogen filling devices, the hydrogen filling infrastructure stage, the business development stage, etc., especially the large-capacity high-pressure hydrogen storage capacity. It is the only company in the world that can store 1000L of hydrogen under the "high pressure" of 100MPA.

H2ESK hopes to contribute to a comfortable environment and safe life through green energy and organic material processing furnaces. They exhibited electrolyte hydrogen devices and organic material processing furnaces, but they are still in the early stages.

At the exhibition, in addition to large exhibits such as hydrogen cars, drones, and construction machinery, various mobile products such as hydrogen bicycles and hydrogen motorcycles were also on display, but they have not yet been widely used.

"The global hydrogen business is expected to grow rapidly to $642 billion by 2030, and we try to provide companies with opportunities for pragmatic cooperation," said the head of H2 MEET.

Indeed, the KOTRA booth prepared for global export consultation has increased in size compared to last year, and hydrogen industry leaders and investors from all over the world are negotiating here.

It is understood that a total of 39 overseas buyers participated in this event last year, and a company signed a contract worth 280 million US dollars through this event.

At the opening ceremony, Kang Nam-hoon also said in his speech: "We will do our best to make this event a global platform for cooperation and communication in the hydrogen energy industry ecosystem, and contribute to the development of innovative technologies and businesses in the field of hydrogen energy."

It is worth mentioning that this exhibition also introduced a very interesting new plan: the organizer will measure the carbon emissions generated in the exhibition hall, and use these data to plan future carbon neutrality strategies to better respond to new sustainable challenges.

In the center of the exhibition hall, a virtual reality (VR) device is also set up, where visitors can visit the cockpit of a hydrogen energy tram. Open the door, sit in the cockpit, and pull the joystick to experience the upcoming hydrogen energy society up close.

VR experience equipment

Through this exhibition, Sohu can also capture several key trends in the development of hydrogen energy.

First, with the development of science and technology, the technology of hydrogen energy in production, storage, transportation and other aspects has improved, and more and more companies are joining in, which will reduce the cost of hydrogen energy and enhance market competitiveness.

For example, the use of hydrogen storage alloys, a solid hydrogen storage method, to store a large amount of hydrogen in the safest way can achieve stable processing of hydrogen at higher density and lower pressure.

Because the liquid hydrogen storage method requires ultra-low temperature technology of -253°C and suffers a lot of losses during storage. The ammonia hydrogen storage method requires toxic substance management technology, expensive catalysts and high-temperature pyrolysis equipment.

Hydrogen storage alloys can reversibly store and release hydrogen at a pressure of 1 to 5MPa. It only needs to adjust the external temperature between 10 and 80°C to switch between storage and release. It has high durability and can store and release hydrogen repeatedly.

Hydrogen storage tank

The market demand for hydrogen energy is also increasing, especially in the highly-watched transportation sector. A visitor from Seoul told Sohu Technology: "Hydrogen fuel cells have long battery life and fast hydrogen refueling, making them a very popular choice. I am happy to buy them."

In addition, the cooperation between countries in the field of hydrogen energy is becoming increasingly close. There are many projects and exhibits jointly cooperated by different countries at the exhibition site. Countries such as Australia, Canada, and Switzerland have also prepared "Country Day" activities to share the status and trends of their own hydrogen industries. This international cooperation will accelerate the advancement and application of hydrogen energy technology.