Hydrogen: Electricity Storage of the Future?

By Birgit Baustädter - If our energy system is to become more eco-friendly, there is no way to avoid hydrogen as an energy carrier. Researchers around the world are certain of this. Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. Not only here does it occupy a prominent place, but also in the discussion about an eco-friendly energy system of the future. "At the turn of the millennium, it was agreed to use hydrogen as an energy carrier," explains Viktor Hacker, who established the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Systems Laboratory at Graz University of Technology in 2001 and today heads the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Systems working group. "As a strategic and climate-friendly energy carrier, hydrogen is the best common denominator for a variety of applications." Renewable energy sources, such as the sun, are subject to frequent fluctuations. There are many hours of sunshine in summer and few in winter for example - even rainy weather and fog have an impact on the yield of solar systems.