Hydrogen: the energy solution we need.

The 20th century has seen a period of rapid growth in depend on free and limitless fuels (sun, wind, etc.) in
global economies and in living standards. Although this order to produce electricity.
development has not been free of contradictions and
there is evidence of problems in inequality, our society On the other hand, electricity is difficult to store on a
has changed in a way never before seen by humanity. large scale in a clean and efficient way. For this
reason, so that a distributed generation system is
The power behind this development has been the developed, it is necessary to have an alternative to
access to energy. electricity such as an energy vector. The most realistic
alternative is another energy vector that will coexist
The current energy model, mainly based on fossil with electricity in the short, medium and long term
fuels, is characterised by a series of structural future: hydrogen (H2).
weaknesses and geopolitical, social and environmental
problems, which have a direct impact on the economy, Therefore, the generation of electricity from renewable
the stability and the quality of life of the world's energy sources is proposed, which will be used at a
citizens. later time to produce hydrogen through the
electrolysis of water. This hydrogen may be stored so
At the beginning of the 21st century we observed that, that it can be used later to produce electricity and heat
on the one hand, the sharp increase in petroleum when needed. The immediate question may be why
consumption will lead, in the not-so-distant future, to electricity has to be produced two times. The reason is
difficulties in availability due to the increase in demand that electricity cannot be stored, so that if the sun
and to the extraction capacity limits. On the other does not shine, the wind does not blow or the water
hand, for the first time we are conscious of the does not flow, electricity cannot be produced, and
significant negative impact on the environment, economic activity would cease. Hydrogen would be a
because of the real risk of climatic change which could way to store energy which could guarantee a
have devastating effects on our surroundings. In this permanent and continuous supply to society.
century, therefore, it is up to us to find either a
substitute, or at least a product with capabilities The great advantage of hydrogen is that, given its
similar to those of oil, that allows the levels of versatility, it can be reconverted into electricity, with
development and well-being reached by certain people high efficiency, through fuel cell technology.
to be maintained and spread to those that are still
working towards achieving a well developed society. Apart from the advances that are going to take place
in domestic applications, there is a hope that in 2020 a
Hydrogen (H2) is currently considered to be the minimum infrastructure will exist which will allow us to
element that may be able to perform, in the following travel around Europe in hydrogen cars.
decades, a function similar to that performed by
petroleum during the past century. In this context, Generalia H2 is implementing its
project "cerro del hidrogeno", the objective of
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the which is the production of hydrogen starting
universe and yet it is rarely found by itself in nature. with solar energy for its use in municipal
Unlike coal, oil or gas, hydrogen is not a natural dependencies in the town of Huerta de
resource; it cannot be harvested from nature through Valdecarábanos in Toledo.
mining or extraction as in the case of fossil resources
in general. Hydrogen is a energy carrier (like Generalia is a member of the Spanish Hydrogen
electricity), it is necessary to produce it from other Association.
raw materials (water, biomass), and, in order to
convert these materials into hydrogen, it is necessary
to follow certain transformations in which some type of
primary energy is consumed.

One way to produce green hydrogen is based on the

use of renewable energies (wind, photovoltaic, water,
geothermal, biomass, etc.) that cause less
environmental impact than conventional sources and