A question I am often asked, not just by friends but also by people within the energy fraternity, experts and government agencies. The most common argument is that Solar is getting so cheap that there is going to be a time soon where solar will be almost free, and so would wind, not to forget lithium batteries, which are getting cheaper by the hour. Ideal world, ideal situations. A solar and battery hybrid will be cheaper than the grid and we would have combated climate change.
Then why Fuel Cells? Often, I sit back and think, whether betting on Fuel Cell technology was the right decision I made for the company and for my Vision of bringing 24×7 clean, green, reliable & affordable energy solutions to all? And when I look back, 10 long years, where I have learnt a lot but not earned profits, where even a small business is a struggle, survival itself is at stake every single morning when I wake up. No doubt, I have a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), and if I even reach 10% of the potential to that goal, our company h2e will bring fundamental and incredible value to millions who live in abject energy poverty & will bring recognizable profits to all the stakeholders who are important to my Vision Viz. The Mother Earth, Our Country, The Society we live in, Our Partners & Customers, Our Vendors / Suppliers, Our Employees and yes, the last MYSELF.
They say the Hydrogen Economy is coming, in my opinion it is inevitable. Green Hydrogen & Fuel Cells are a great invention and if developed well into an application-based format can be very effective & affordable source of Energy to the world. Fuel Cells combined with Solar, Biowaste (gas), Battery can deliver solutions that are perhaps cheaper than the grid, and yes, they are very clean and very green as well. Green Hydrogen will change the way we live, drive, work, travel, recreate, learn et al. The world will go through a tectonic shift, from Oil to Hydrogen. No wonder they say Hydrogen is the new Oil.
Despite the euphoria all around, the mind sometimes does get worried if going to the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell route was indeed the wisest decision, there are investors who have put their faith in my dream, my family who has patiently supported me for the last 10 years without expecting any luxuries & comforts, my partners & associates who have believed in me and are putting in their prime years of life to fulfill this grand vision.
Today was one such day, and my resolve to make this into a commercial success got solidified while reading a recently published article in The Economist and reading about a news on Tesla & California Wild-Fires. Some interesting facts:
- During COVID-19 oil demand dropped by a fifth and recovery is jittery, but return to the old world is unlikely.
- EXON-Mobil has been ejected form DOW Jones industrial average for the first time since 1928.
- Petrostates need oil prices to be at $70 levels to balance their economies, today it is at $40.
- Clean energy stock are up almost 45% in the last one year.
- EU has earmarked 30% of its 880 billion € COVID-19 recovery plan to clean technologies like Hydrogen.
- Joe Biden has pledged a $2 trillion deal to clean energy.
- Fossil Fuels provide 85% of the worlds energy today.
- Solar and Wind account for 5% of the world energy needs today and it is expected due to rise to 25% by 2035 and 50% by 2050.
- The emergence of ElectroStates is imminent. Why can’t India be the Most powerful ElectroState?
- Over dependence on China may derail the entire clean energy process. Chinese firms produce 72% of the worlds Solar modules, 69% of lithium ion batteries, 45% of world wind turbines. They also control much of refining materials critical to clean energy such as cobalt and lithium.
Tesla sent out a message to their customers in California, that please charge your batteries to maximum levels, with power outages in California you never know when would be the next opportunity to charge.
And one answer to this, Yes Fuel Cells; Yes Hydrogen! This is the holy grail. We have set out on a path to have a hybrid approach of combining all clean technologies into a solution for transportation as well as stationary energy needs and these are going to give a sustainable and scalable solution to the world.
This also echo’s in the Billion+ € Hydrogen programs announced by countries like Germany, France, Denmark, S.Korea, The EU and our Honorable Prime Minister talking Hydrogen, the NITI Aayog talking about a Hydrogen Action Plan and large Energy companies both in the Public Sector and Private sector suddenly talking Fuel Cells and Hydrogen. Notable are the initiatives by companies like Indian Oil, Ministry of Petroleum, Department of Science & Technology, MNRE who are in a constant quest to encourage innovation, new ideas, new concepts and are willing to patiently hand hold us Entrepreneurs through the valley of death.
And once again feeling the Hydrogen High, once again rekindling the pledge that I made in 2009 to the idea of Swadeshi Urja for a Swawalambi Bharat. Innovating business models once again to bring value to customers across the world, forging partnerships, bringing ethical and inexpensive ways to mass manufacture, integrating future technologies today. It’s like the Journey has just begun, a journey which promises to change the lives of millions, a journey that I started with a few baby steps and one that has now become a movement.
This is an Idea whose Time has Come, Hydrogen Economy; Fuel Cell Economy is ready to RISE & Ready to Take Off!