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June
15, 2023
By
Infineon
Semiconductor solutions for green hydrogen
Recent years have seen a massive shift to hydrogen in politics and
industry: Political decision-makers around the world are recognizing
the central role of hydrogen in the fight against climate change while
setting national targets and building international partnerships.
Experts around the world associate
hydrogen with the hope of adding more flexibility to our energy system,
while reducing dependence on a diminishing supply of fossil resources.
The innovations and technological breakthroughs in green hydrogen are
expected to help humankind reach climate protection targets and live
more sustainably as societies.
This chemical element indeed offers manifold capabilities: Besides
being a versatile energy source, hydrogen can be used for example as
an energy carrier, as an option for storing enormous amounts of
energy, or as fuel
for vehicles. Used, for example, in a fuel cell, it emits only
water vapor and warm air. However, while many tech companies are
working to solve the various
challenges related to hydrogen technology, the
key is to use green hydrogen, produced both with renewable energy and
at affordable costs. The rapid acceleration of renewable
energy generation and massive build-up of electrolysis capacities are
therefore prerequisites for a truly sustainable hydrogen economy.
Infineon stands ready to support this transformation.
New: Tech
explainer video – Infineon's solutions for hydrogen electrolysis (3:36
min)
Watch now
Diverse fields of applications for green hydrogen
In many industries with a particularly high level of energy
consumption, such as
metallurgy, cement or heating, green hydrogen is expected to replace
fossil fuel on a large scale. The same is true for the chemical
sector (e.g. synthesis of plastics) and agriculture (e.g.
fertilizers), which will use hydrogen in large quantities. Using fuel
cell hydrogen is also expected to be crucial for
decarbonization in
the transportation sector, for example for railways, trucks or ships. And
in the area of energy
production, renewable energies such as solar and wind power
are expanding massively. But their production is dependent on daylight
and weather conditions, which is why options for large-scale energy
storage using hydrogen
as a storage medium are also becoming increasingly important.
In all these areas, energy efficiency is the key, meaning that as
little energy as possible should be lost during conversion or
transmission thanks to semiconductor solutions.
Application page: Hydrogen
electrolyzer
Supporting development of a sustainable hydrogen economy
Electric power generation from renewable energies
The combination of renewable energy and efficient power
semiconductors from Infineon is a key lever in the large-scale
production of green hydrogen. This is why Infineon is playing a
decisive role in shaping the development of a green hydrogen economy
– wherever technological challenges need to be mastered along the
way. The core question is: What meaningful technical contributions
can make to help the transformation to a decarbonized society using
green hydrogen a success? As a leading manufacturer of power
semiconductors for wind power and photovoltaic inverters, Infineon
enables electricity generation from renewable energies, which is key
to the production of green hydrogen.
Hydrogen technology in transportation to meet CO2 reduction
targets
Transportation is a key sector in terms of meeting overall CO2 reduction
targets. As the market leader in automotive semiconductors, Infineon
is a key enabler of electric vehicles and already supports the
automotive industry on its path to zero-carbon mobility. Both
battery electric vehicles and hydrogen-based fuel-cell
electric drives will
be needed to achieve decarbonization across different
transportation types. The
first hydrogen-powered passenger trains are
already on the tracks in Europe and we will soon also see hydrogen in
commercial vehicles, such as trucks,
complementing electric drives. In general, the
hydrogen-based fuel cell drive will most likely be the preferred
option for heavier loads and longer distances, while battery
electric drives will become the predominant solution for
light commercial and passenger vehicles with ranges of up to 400 km.
Infineon Discovery: Hydrogen
– the drive of energy transition?
Application page: Fuel-cell
electric vehicle (FCEV) drivetrain system
Onsite production of green hydrogen at Infineon’s Villach site
Industries still need to solve key challenges in the areas of green
hydrogen production, storage, transport and use in order to exploit
the full potential of hydrogen and achieve net-zero energy efficiency.
The first challenge is certainly the significant expansion of
renewable energy generation, which provides the basis for green
hydrogen production. In addition, a massive infrastructure with
enormous electrolysis capacities will be needed to turn green
electricity into hydrogen.
Accordingly Infineon
is committed to reach carbon-neutrality by 2030 and is on
track to do so with green hydrogen coming into play in the
semiconductor industry itself. Chip production requires hydrogen as
both a carrier and process gas, so the growing demand for chips means
the demand for high-purity hydrogen is increasing, too. Consequently Infineon
will join forces with Linde to build the first electrolysis plant for
the onsite production of green hydrogen in the semiconductor
industry at the
Infineon production site in Villach, Austria.
More information (partly in German):
Kärnten testet ersten Wasserstoff-Bus im Linienbetrieb
Austrian research project “H2Pioneer“: Green hydrogen for the
semiconductor industry
Broad portfolio for green hydrogen production and consumption
Infineon’s semiconductor solutions support the
development of a sustainable hydrogen economy along the energy supply
chain. Explore our portfolio for green hydrogen:
Hydrogen consumption, for example in a fuel cell:
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
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