Two companies aim to reduce emissions: One splits molecules and the other heads into the wind

Prototype of Electric Hydrogen’s humble electrolyzer, a.k.a. the
'unicorn' (Photo by Cassandra Klos, The Wall Street Journal)

One company is diving all-in to lessen greenhouse emissions with science-savvy and financial moxie. Another company, with a similar goal, revived an ancient transportation practice to change sea frieght pollution. What do they have in common? Both companies use water as a solution.

"Hundreds of companies have promised to produce large amounts of green hydrogen, but none have succeeded. Electric Hydrogen believes the secret to success is finding a better way to split a molecule, reports Amrith Ramkumar of The Wall Street Journal. "Investors believe it too. The company is the green hydrogen industry's first unicorn. It recently raised $380 million from backers including BP, United Airlines, Microsoft and iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals. That pushed it over the magical $1 billion mark."

The secret to splitting a water molecule with less greenhouse emissions is a better electrolyzer, Ramkumar writes. However, previous electrolyzers used too much energy and were costly. "Electric Hydrogen's secret sauce is new materials and designs," Ramkumar reports. "The company's engineers made all of the critical electrolyzer components in-house, following Tesla's model. By boosting performance, they drove down costs. . . . Electric Hydrogen plans to sell cheaper electrolyzers to hydrogen producers just like solar panel manufacturers sell panels to clean-energy developers."

The company will open its first electrolyzer factory in 2024, but the technology's "success or failure won't be known for years," Ramkumar reports. "As it ramps up supply and customers install the machines, get permits and connect the electrolyzers to green power. Gregory Constantine, chief executive of startup Air Company, which hopes to use hydrogen to make clean jet fuel, told him: "It's kind of like Netflix waiting for high-speed broadband and internet to get there. . . . When it does, it unlocks all of these other areas."

Photo by David Hurn via The Atlantic

Meanwhile, transportation is a polluter that needs better options. It's "responsible for nearly one-fifth of all the carbon emissions in the food system, and between 75% and 80% of all goods are transported via sea freight, which typically relies on container ships powered by dirty bunker fuel," reports Whitney Bauck of Ambrook Research. "Despite international agreements forged this summer to slash global shipping emissions by at least 20% by 2030, the past 10 years have shown 'no progress in terms of actual emission reductions' from the industry. . . . What's the solution? Bring back sailboats."

Sailing per-ton cost is far more than trade with traditional container ships; however, it is being successfully used for smaller, high-end niche sea trade. That still leaves huge commodity sea freight and all its polluting emissions, but the industry is working on other solutions. "Agricultural giant Cargill announced a collaboration with BAR Technologies, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Yara Marine Technologies to pilot WindWings, another form of wing sails that can be added to existing fuel-based cargo ships," Bauck writes. Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill ocean transport, told Bauck: "A retrofit solution that is capable of decarbonizing existing vessels through wind technology is a great place to start, given that 55% of the world's bulker fleet are up to nine years in age and most remain in service for decades. That's not just good for the planet — it's also good for the bottom line."