低成本且环保 “绿氢”即将迎来春天

为应对气候变化，保护环境，许多国家确立了到本世纪中叶实现净零碳排放的目标。氢在今年成为首选的未来绿色燃料，而使用可再生能源对水进行电解来提取的“绿氢”更是受到人们的关注。

Hydrogen has taken off this year as the future green fuel of choice, with governments and businesses betting big that the universe’s most abundant element can help fight climate change.

氢在今年成为首选的未来绿色燃料，各国政府和企业都断定这种宇宙中最丰富的元素可以帮助应对气候变化。

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More than $150 billion worth of green hydrogen projects have been announced globally in the past nine months. In total, more than 70 gigawatts of such projects are in development, which could require $250 billion worth of investment by 2040, research firm Rystad Energy estimates.

过去9个月里，全球宣布了总额超过1500亿美元（约合人民币9830亿元）的绿氢项目。据挪威吕斯塔德能源公司估计，总共有超过70吉瓦的此类项目正在开发之中，到2040年可能会需要2500亿美元的投资。

China, Japan and South Korea recently joined a slew of European countries setting net zero targets for carbon emissions by the middle of the century.

中国、日本和韩国最近和许多欧洲国家一样确立了到本世纪中叶实现净零碳排放的目标。

While most developed countries along with China and India plan to boost renewable power output, the net zero emissions targets are driving a push to find ways to decarbonise industries that cannot be electrified and depend on fossil fuels.

时值大多数发达国家以及中国和印度都计划提高可再生能源产量之际，净零排放目标正推动各国设法使无法电气化而依赖矿物燃料的行业脱碳。

The main targets are those sectors that use coal, oil and gas as raw materials, such as in steel-making, cement and fertilisers, and in shipping and aviation.

这主要针对那些以煤炭、石油和天然气为原材料的行业，例如炼钢、水泥和化肥以及航运和航空行业。

To meet that expected demand, powerhouse oil and gas exporters from Saudi Arabia to Australia have set out policies to develop production and export of green hydrogen.

为了满足这一预期中的需求，沙特阿拉伯和澳大利亚等各大石油和天然气出口国已经制定了发展绿氢生产和出口的政策。

Hydrogen, long used as rocket fuel, is mainly used in oil refining and to produce ammonia for fertilisers. Today it is mostly extracted from natural gas or coal, called grey hydrogen, in processes that emit 830 million tonnes a year of carbon dioxide, according to the International Energy Agency.

长期用作火箭燃料的氢主要用于炼油和生产化肥中的氨。据国际能源署称，如今，氢主要从天然气或煤炭中提取，即所谓灰氢，提取过程每年排放8.3亿吨二氧化碳。

Hydrogen produced from natural gas and which eliminates emissions by capturing and storing the emitted carbon is called blue hydrogen.

天然气制氢将制造过程中排放的碳捕获并储存起来，其产品被称为蓝氢。

The holy grail is to extract hydrogen from water using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, “green hydrogen”, for under $1.50 per kilogram, to make it competitive with coal, oil and gas.

最令人向往的是以每千克不到1.50美元的成本、使用可再生能源对水进行电解来提取氢，即“绿氢”，这样它与煤炭、石油和天然气相比才能有竞争力。

electrolysis [ɪˌlekˈtrɒləsɪs]：n.电解

The key costs that have to fall to meet the sub-$1.50 target are the cost of wind and solar power and the cost of electrolysers, which split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

要实现绿氢须降至1.50美元以下的目标，主要成本包含风能和太阳能的成本以及电解器的成本，电解器的作用是将水分解为氢和氧。

Renewable power costs need to fall by around 50% and electrolyser costs would need to drop by around 75% to meet that target, Australia’s renewable energy agency estimates.

澳大利亚可再生能源机构估计，要实现那个目标，可再生能源成本需要降低约50%，电解器成本则需要降低约75%。

The other main hurdle is transporting hydrogen long distances. To ship liquid hydrogen, it needs to be chilled to minus 253 degrees C. Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries is set to complete construction of the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier by early 2021.

另一个主要障碍是氢的远距离运输。液化氢必须冷却到零下253摄氏度才能装运。日本的川崎重工业公司将在2021年初以前建成全球首艘液化氢运输船。

It is much easier to ship hydrogen in the form of liquid ammonia, which needs to be chilled to only minus 33 degrees C, so most of the world’s big hydrogen export projects are looking to ship green ammonia.

运输以液态氨形式储存的氢要容易得多，只需将它冷却到零下33摄氏度。因此，世界上的大多数大型氢出口项目都考虑运输绿氨。

The European Union has set out plans which could require up to 470 billion euros of investment in green hydrogen by 2050. Germany alone is targeting 5,000 megawatts of electrolysis capacity by 2030.

欧盟已经制订了计划，到2050年可能需要对绿氢投资高达4700亿欧元。仅德国就打算到2030年达到5000兆瓦的电解能力。

Japan, a front-runner along with South Korea, is looking to sharply increase a target set in 2017 to import 300,000 tonnes a year of hydrogen in 2030, with new detailed plans expected in 2021 to help it meet its net zero emissions goal.

与韩国一道处于领先地位的日本正考虑大幅度提高2017年设定的目标，即到2030年每年进口30万吨氢。据估计日本会在2021年制订新的详细计划来帮助实现净零排放目标。

US President-elect Joe Biden wants to fund research into technology, including large-scale electrolysers, to help make green hydrogen costs match conventional hydrogen within a decade.

美国当选总统乔·拜登计划拨款研发相关技术，包括研发大型电解器，使绿氢成本在10年之内能与常规氢相当。