Hydrogen to power skyscrapers

Syed Fattahul Alim | Published: September 09, 2024 21:23:46

At a time when impacts of climate change caused by human actions including burning of fossil fuels has been wreaking havoc on the life and livelihood of people across the globe, the urgency of finding a viable, cleaner alternative to hydrocarbon-based energy cannot be overemphasised. Cleaner energy from sun, wind, tidal waves and so on is being tried and used. But they are not robust and efficient enough to replace fossil fuel. Nuclear energy though clean and inexhaustible, is still not safe enough to let the (nuclear) genie completely out of the bottle. There is yet another source of energy, the lightest element hydrogen, which is clean and the most abundantly available substance in the universe. Remember that the fuel that propels rockets that blast off to the near and the interplanetary spaces is hydrogen. Naturally, it should be of interest to an energy-starved country like Bangladesh. But the problem is despite its overabundance, the commercial technology to produce hydrogen profitably is still developing. So, its full potential is yet to be exploited to facilitate the world's faster transition to greener technology. The challenge lies in its high cost of production and difficulty in its transportation. So, as a clean energy solution in the market, it is rated as the second or third best option.
The market of hydrogen as a transportation fuel is in its early stage. Even so, with Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FECVs) gaining popularity, production and distribution of hydrogen is drawing increased attention from the industries as well as governments. However, it has to be ensured that the production process of hydrogen is clean, safe and economical.
The methods of producing hydrogen fuel include natural gas reforming and electrolysis. Notably, the thermal process of steam reforming to produce hydrogen involves the use of hydrocarbon fuels in 95 per cent cases. Seeing that the raw material for hydrogen fuel is overwhelmingly of hydrocarbon origin, the economic reason for producing hydrogen as a fuel is not very convincing. And that is for the simple reason that hydrocarbons themselves are fuels and in use for centuries as a cheap source of energy. However, with rising concern about fossil fuels' contribution to global warming, the appeal of clean fuels like hydrogen, though expensive, has been growing.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to find hydrogen's novel use as a viable and clean energy solution for big projects. Mention may be made here of a skyscraper being built in Egypt's New Administrative Capital (NAC) outside Cairo. Its designer, Gordon Gill, is the world's foremost exponent of performance-based architecture. Basically focused on energy-efficient and sustainable architectural designs, his 'performance philosophy' is that there is a 'Language of Performance' and that 'Form Follows Performance'. As partner of the firm, 'Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture', he is behind the design of a 787 feet tall skyscraper, an office building, in Egypt's NAC. According to its developer, the 43-floor office building will be powered mainly (75 per cent) by energy from clean hydrogen and 25 per cent by photovoltaics (solar panels). Obviously, the objective of the massive project is to achieve a net zero-carbon footprint. Even the materials being used to construct the skyscraper, its developer, Magnom Properties, said, have, which it termed, 'low-embodied carbon'. That means the sources from which the building materials were produced and the method of their manufacturing involved reduced carbon emission. Also, eventual disposal or reuse of the materials will have low carbon footprint. In this way, the developer of the massive structure believes, the carbon footprint of construction could be cut by 58 per cent. And with recycling and treatment on site, the demand for fresh water, too, will be reduced.
The success of this futuristic project will definitely inspire a climate vulnerable country like Bangladesh.
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