【TED演讲稿】绿色氢能将如何结束化石燃料时代
TED演讲者：Vaitea Cowan / 瓦伊塔·考恩
演讲标题：How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era / 绿色氢能将如何结束化石燃料时代
内容概要：As climate change accelerates, finding clean alternatives to fossil fuels is more urgent than ever. Social entrepreneur Vaitea Cowan believes green hydrogen is the answer. Watch as she shares her team's work mass producing electrolyzers -- devices that separate water into its molecular components: hydrogen and oxygen -- and shows how they could help make green, carbon-free fuel affordable and accessible for everyone. "This is how we end the fossil fuel era," Cowan says.
随着气候变化加速，寻找化石燃料的绿色替代品比以往任何时候都更加紧迫。 社会企业家瓦伊塔 · 考恩 （Vaitea Cowan） 认为答案是绿色氢能。 敬请观看她分享她的团队大规模生产电解器的工作——将水分离为它的分子成分：氢和氧的设备——并展示它们会如何帮助使每个人都能负担得起和使用绿色、零碳燃料。 “这就是我们结束化石燃料时代的方式，” 考恩说。
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【1】We're going on a field trip together.
我们现在要踏上一个旅程。
【2】We're going back to middle school, to chemistry class.
我们将回到初中, 回到化学课堂。
【3】Do you remember this?
还记得这个么？
【4】It was an experiment we did with salt water, a battery and two pencils.
这是一个用了盐水、 电池和两支铅笔的实验。
【5】Guess what?
你肯定猜不到。
【6】The reaction you witnessed then is a key to tackling climate change.
你当时所看到化学反应 是解决气候变化问题的关键。
【7】Yes, at 14 years old, we already knew.
是的,我们十四岁的时候 就知道这个知识了。
【8】And today, we have the means to replace fossil fuels with green hydrogen.
如今,我们有了用绿色氢能 代替化石燃料的办法。
【9】Let's walk through this.
让我来详细解释一下。
【10】The experiment I'm alluding to is called water electrolysis.
我刚提到的实验叫做 水电解实验。
【11】And it is a way to create hydrogen.
这是一个制造氢气的方法。
【12】On Earth, hydrogen is found in the greatest quantities in water: H2O.
在地球上, 氢含量最多的地方,是水: 一氧化二氢 （H2O）。
【13】And when you use renewable electricity to split water into H and O, that's green hydrogen.
当你用可再生能源 把水分成氢和氧的时候, 就得到了绿色氢。
【14】And the device creating this reaction is called an electrolyzer.
产生这种反应的装置, 叫做电解槽。
【15】There are other colors of hydrogen out there, but they use fossil fuels.
世界上还有别的“颜色“的氢, 但那些都是用化石燃料生成的。
【16】So we're not going to talk about those today, they'll only make climate change worse.
所以我们今天说的不包括那些氢, 它们只会让气候问题更加严重。
【17】We are talking about green hydrogen, which is 100 percent clean.
我们要说的是绿色氢, 是绝对零污染的。
【18】And the quickest path to scaling green hydrogen is by mass producing electrolyzers.
而最快的扩大绿色氢规模的方法, 就是大批量生产电解槽。
【19】But first, why do we need green hydrogen?
但首先,我们为什么 需要绿色氢呢？
【20】When we look at our global energy consumption today, only 20 percent comes in the form of electricity or electrons.
如果我们看一下 当今的全球能源消耗, 只有 20% 是电力或是以电子为载体。
【21】This means the remaining 80 percent of our world's energy use is in the forms of molecules.
也就是说, 其余 80% 的全球能耗 都是以分子为载体的。
【22】And while the world is making rapid progress in greening our electricity, we need to look towards our molecules as well.
当世界正在迅速推进 绿色电力的同时, 我们也得看看分子能源。
【23】Think about your industry, transport, heating and cooling sectors.
想想工业、运输业、供暖和制冷业。
【24】They're all powered by molecules.
这些靠的都是分子能源。
【25】And yes, this means largely by fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas.
是的,也就是主要靠化石燃料: 煤、石油和燃气。
【26】We won't be able to electrify all of our sectors.
我们没办法让所有行业都用上电能。
【27】And here's why.
我来告诉你为什么。
【28】Let's start with an example from the industrial sector.
我来先举个工业的例子。
【29】Molecules create the reaction, not electrons.
产生能量反应的,是分子, 不是电子。
【30】To make steel the old way we first mine iron ore, then burn coal to remove the oxygen from the iron mix.
炼钢的旧方法是,先开采铁矿石, 然后要燃烧煤矿 来去除铁混合物中的氧气。
【31】Seven to nine percent of our world's CO2 emissions come from this process.
全世界有 7% 到 9% 的碳排放 来自于这个过程。
【32】It's the coal that provides the molecule, creating the reaction to get rid of the oxygen.
是煤矿的分子, 产生了去除氧气的反应。
【33】Electrons can't do that.
这是电子做不到的。
【34】But what they can do is power the device that creates green hydrogen.
但电子可以做的是 给产生绿色氢的设备供能。
【35】And this clean molecule will create the reaction, attract the oxygen and emit only water in the process.
而这零排放的氢分子 就可以发生化学反应, 来吸引走氧气, 而且全程只排放出水。
【36】So by changing the process, we can eliminate up to 95 percent of our CO2 emissions.
所以通过改变生产工艺, 我们可以消除 高达 95% 的二氧化碳排放量。
【37】And today, major European steel manufacturers are already building green hydrogen-based steel production processes.
而如今主要的欧洲钢铁厂 已经在建立绿色氢能为主的 钢铁生产工艺了。
【38】(Applause) That's just one of the countless industrial processes, small and big, that need a molecule.
（掌声） 这只是无数或大或小的 需要分子能源的 工业生产工艺中的一种。
【39】Another example, let's say, that we can't use electricity for everything-everything is weight.
另一个例子,就是说, 不是所有东西都能用电供能—— 任何东西都有重量。
【40】Take the aviation sector.
拿航空业举个例子。
【41】An 80-passenger aircraft flying on batteries.
一个客载八十人的、 电池供能的飞机。
【42】Kind of impossible.
不太可能吧。
【43】One would need more batteries just to fly the battery.
仅仅让电池飞起来, 你就得需要更多的电池。
【44】Hydrogen planes, though, they're taking off emission-free.
然而氢能飞机, 它们可以零碳排放飞行。
【45】This is a 20-seater aircraft, and its commercial flights are scheduled two years from now.
这是一架载客二十人的飞机。 两年之后, 它就能投入民航使用了。
【46】And by 2026, we'll be welcoming the 80-seater.
2026 年之前, 我们就能见到载客 80 人的型号了。
【47】And these are just two examples of how we can end our reliance on fossil fuels.
而以上只是两个 有关我们可以如何 不再依靠化石燃料的例子。
【48】The world is turning to green hydrogen because it is effectively coupling those hard-to-decarbonize sectors with green electricity.
整个世界都在开始使用绿色氢能, 因为它正有效地将那些 很难脱碳的行业与绿色电力结合。
【49】An electrolyzer connected to solar and wind power generation is transforming green electrons into green molecules.
一个由太阳能和风力供能的电解槽, 会把绿色电子转化为绿色分子。
【50】Green hydrogen is transforming our renewable electricity into an energy carrier that is extremely versatile.
绿色氢能正在把可再生电力 变成一种用途广泛的能量载体。
【51】And today, this clean molecule is already being used in a wide range of applications.
如今,这零污染的氢分子 已经被用在很多地方了。
【52】It can be combusted directly as a fuel and emits zero carbon emissions.
它可以作为燃料直接燃烧, 而且碳排放量为零。
【53】It's also being turned into hydrogen-derived fuels like green ammonia, green methanol, which can fuel global shipping.
它还被转化为氢衍生燃料, 如绿色氨、绿色甲醇, 可为全球航运提供燃料。
【54】Green hydrogen is being stored across seasons without losing energy, like here in the Alps.
绿色氢气可以跨季节储存 还不会损失能量, 就像在阿尔卑斯山脉这儿。
【55】And it can then be used in a fuel cell to create electricity emitting only water, like in this remote village in Malaysia.
它还可以被放在燃料电池中, 来产生仅排放水的电力, 比如在马来西亚这个偏远的村庄。
【56】Hydrogen is one of the most energy-dense molecules, and by mass it contains three times as much energy than diesel.
氢是能量密度最高的分子之一, 按质量计算, 它所含的能量是柴油的三倍。
【57】So you might be wondering, well, why aren't we using this already everywhere?
所以你可能会想了,那, 为什么我们还没有 到处都在用这个呢？
【58】And so previously, the reason was the cost of green electricity.
在此之前的原因, 是绿色电能的成本。
【59】But that's no longer the bottleneck.
但那不再是瓶颈了。
【60】So what's the challenge?
所以问题在哪儿呢？
【61】It's the speed, scale and cost of making these green hydrogen generators.
在于制造这些生产绿色氢能的设备的 速度、规模和成本。
【62】Luckily, people are already working on making green hydrogen a reality.
好消息是, 人们已经在努力 实现绿色氢能了。
【63】Because to make green hydrogen the fuel source of the future, it needs to be cheaper than fossil fuels.
为了让绿色氢能 成为未来的主要能量源, 它得比化石燃料便宜。
【64】And this means electrolyzers are going to need to be really, really cheap.
也就是说, 电解槽的成本得非常、非常便宜。
【65】We started Enapter in 2017 with this one goal in mind and urgency in our hearts.
带着这个目标和迫切的心态, 我们在 2017 年成立了 Enapter。
【66】And so we chose a means that is a bit different from how others in the industry proceed.
我们用的方法 和行业里别人用的有点不太一样。
【67】We turned to economic history for approaches that scaled fast and reduced prices significantly.
我们去经济史里寻找到了一个 快速拓展又大力降低成本的方法。
【68】And the answer was clear.
答案就很清楚了。
【69】If you want to take a solution around the globe as quickly as possible, you need to make it a standardized, mass-produced commodity.
如果你想要尽快在全球 推广一个方案, 就需要把它变成一种 标准化、大规模生产的商品。
【70】A product that's easy to make and use.
一个制造和使用都很方便的产品。
【71】And so some believe we need larger machines.
有的人觉得我们需要 尺寸大一点的生产机器。
【72】But we believe the electrolyser should be a standardized, mass-produced commodity.
但我们觉得电解槽得是一个 标准化、大批量生产的商品。
【73】A product that can make green hydrogen anywhere for anyone.
一个可以在任何地方都可以给任何人 制造绿色氢能的产品。
【74】So to better understand our approach, let me draw an analogy.
为了更好地解释我们的方法, 我来打个比方。
【75】Up until the ’80s, mainframe computers, they were considered the future of computing.
直到 80 年代,大型计算机 都被认为是计算的未来。
【76】They were huge and complex equipment, and they were designed for businesses only.
它们都体型巨大而复杂, 而且是专为企业使用而设计的。
【77】Then came the PC, and at first people laughed and wondered: Why would we ever need such a tiny computer?
然后个人计算机出场了。 刚开始 大家都在边笑边觉得奇怪: 我们怎么会用得上 这么小的电脑呢？
【78】But ultimately, it disrupted the industry.
但最终,它彻底改变了整个行业。
【79】And today, data centers, they use blade servers, which is PC technology.
如今,数据中心都在使用刀锋服务器, 这是个人电脑用的技术。
【80】Why?
为什么？
【81】Because the PC became a compact, standardized and mass-producible product that was cheap to make, easy to build, and that could be used in any kinds of context.
因为个人电脑成为了一个 结构紧凑、标准化且可量产的产品, 而且生产成本低,制造技术简单, 还可以在任何情境下使用。
【82】It's time to do this with green hydrogen.
是时候把绿色氢能 也变成这样的产品了。
【83】To this end, Enapter is designing all of its electrolyzers as products and not projects.
为此, Enapter 把所有的电解槽 当作一个产品去设计, 而不是当作项目。
【84】At the heart of our electrolyser is an electrolysis core generating green hydrogen, and it is the foundation for all of our products.
我们电解槽的核心是 产生绿色氢的电解核, 而它是我们所有产品的基础。
【85】And we're taking these core stacks and other components of our electrolyzers into mass production.
我们正在将这些电解核的模块堆 和电解槽的其他组件投入批量生产。
【86】And so instead of building larger electrolyzers, we're building compact ones that can be combined to achieving any hydrogen quantity needed.
所以与其建造大型的电解槽, 我们造的是结构紧凑的、 可以组合起来 以生产任何氢能需求量的电解槽。
【87】And we believe this is the quickest way to scale green hydrogen and drive down its price.
我们认为这是 扩大绿色氢能规模 并降低成本的最快的方式。
【88】And the next step is going into mass production.
而下一步就是, 大批量生产。
【89】This is our campus.
这是我们的生产基地。
【90】And it's going to be fully powered by renewables, of course, and that's where we'll be tackling speed, scale and cost.
当然, 它将完全由可再生能源供能。 这也是我们将攻克 速度、规模和成本的难题的地方。
【91】By focusing on one single core size, we can leverage massive economies of scale and drive down the price of green hydrogen.
通过统一核心模块的尺寸, 我们可以利用大型的规模经济效益, 并降低绿色氢能的价格。
【92】Because that’s what it’s all about: making green hydrogen cheaper than fossil fuels.
因为这就是一切的关键: 让绿色氢能比化石燃料更便宜。
【93】We have the means to make green hydrogen the fuel source of the future.
我们已经有了让绿色氢能 成为未来的能量源的方法了。
【94】It's time to listen to our 14-year-old selves and the 14-year-olds of today.
是时候倾听当初我们十四岁的自己, 和如今十四岁的孩子们了。
【95】Our generation has a unique opportunity.
我们这一代人有着独特的机会。
【96】It's time for the next industrial revolution.
是时候开始 下一次的工业革命了。
【97】We can build our world's energy supplies sustainably, made of a lot of green electricity and a wave of green hydrogen molecules.
我们可以建立 一个可持续的、由大量绿色电力 和绿色氢分子组成的, 世界能源供应链。
【98】This is how we end the fossil fuel era.
这就是我们结束化石燃料时代的方式。
【99】Thank you.
谢谢。
【100】(Applause)
