Sustainability

Sustainable transport

In particular hydrogen can offer a solution to the problem of emissions (including greenhouse gas emissions) generated from the transport sector. Estimates say that the global emissions of carbon dioxide associated to energy will increase by 1.8% between 2000 and 2030, increasing by 70% as compared to today’s levels. Electricity production and transports will represent almost ¾ of the new emissions and estimates say that the global emissions in the transport sector will increase by more than 85% between 2000 and 2030, and at that time transports will represent almost ¼ of the global emissions associated to energy. Hybrid vehicles with internal combustion engine working with fossil fuels or fuel cells, could reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 25% as compared to the most advanced internal combustion engines. However, significant emission reductions can be obtained only with the introduction of totally renewable fuels. Several fuels deriving from biomass offer interesting alternatives in the short-medium term: the biodiesel obtained fro oleaginous seeds, bioethanol obtained from plants rich in sugar and starch, ethanol, etc. It seems, however, that hydrogen has the highest potential in the long term as a renewable transport fuel, thanks to the wide range of resources it can be obtained from, its efficiency in fuel cell vehicles and the absence of emissions.