Global warming stands among the gravest challenges of our time. Some may doubt it, but the reality is undeniable: year after year, temperatures are climbing, shattering records and pushing the planet into uncharted heat. To put it plainly, Earth is inching closer to a more hostile, even hellish, environment with each passing year.
The primary drivers of global warming are largely human-made—anthropogenic, as scientists call it. Through our actions, we constantly pump greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. These gases create a blanket-like layer around the Earth, trapping heat much like a blanket holds in body warmth. Just as a blanket doesn’t generate heat itself but traps the warmth we produce, these gases don’t create heat but prevent it from escaping. The thicker this “blanket,” the more heat is trapped, steadily warming our planet.
Similarly, the heat produced or reflected by the Earth becomes trapped beneath a layer of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, fueling global warming. The hopeful news is that global warming is reversible; we simply need to curb our release of greenhouse gases. By reducing emissions, we can gradually restore balance to the atmosphere and help reduce global warming.
One effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is to move away from vehicles powered by fossil fuels. When petrol and diesel are burned in car engines, they produce several by-products, including carbon dioxide, which contributes significantly to global warming.
Alternative fuels have been explored for quite some time, with promising options like biofuels and electric batteries already proving commercially viable. Brazil stands out as a success story in the switch to biofuels, where ethanol has replaced petrol and biodiesel has substituted diesel.
More and more car manufacturers are rolling out electric versions of their vehicles, as battery technology continues to advance. A few years ago, Indian automaker Tata announced the release of the Tata Evision electric car, which runs entirely on battery power. With a single charge, this vehicle can travel an impressive 1,000 kilometers before needing to recharge, setting a new standard for efficiency in electric mobility.
Hydrogen fuel is another alternative gaining significant attention. Initially, it was not pursued as aggressively because a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine achieves only 20–25% efficiency. However, if hydrogen is converted into electricity to power a vehicle, the efficiency rises to around 60%. At this level, the running costs of hydrogen fuel become comparable to those of traditional fossil fuels, making it a much more competitive and sustainable option.
Hydrogen has a major advantage: it is the most abundant element in the universe. The Sun itself is a massive sphere of hydrogen, constantly converting to helium through nuclear fusion and releasing enormous amounts of energy. The gas giants—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—are primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, with other trace gases. Across the universe, hydrogen is everywhere, accounting for about 75% of all matter, making it a virtually limitless resource for energy innovation.
Using hydrogen as a vehicle fuel offers the promise of an inexhaustible resource. Until recently, however, the practical challenges of handling hydrogen—its high flammability and low density—made shipping and storage immensely difficult. Now, thanks to Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), we can transport hydrogen more safely by converting it into ammonia and then back to hydrogen at the point of use. CSIRO recently road-tested this ammonia-to-hydrogen technology for fuel cells in two vehicles: a Toyota Mirai and a Hyundai Nexo, marking a significant advancement in hydrogen fuel technology.
If further tests confirm the viability of the ammonia-to-hydrogen technology, the future of clean energy will indeed be thrilling. Major car manufacturers, including BMW, are already setting their sights on hydrogen as a key fuel resource for the future, recognizing its potential to revolutionize the automotive industry and contribute to a sustainable, low-emission energy landscape.
In not-too-distant a future, we may find ourselves pulling up to a filling station, not to refuel with petrol or diesel, but to replenish with ammonia—all in service of Mother Nature. However, if we fail to take bold, decisive action to halt the production of greenhouse gases, we risk turning our beautiful planet into a replica of Venus. Once thought to be Earth’s twin, Venus was later found to have experienced a runaway greenhouse effect. The planet’s atmosphere, mostly composed of carbon dioxide, has driven extreme global warming, resulting in surface temperatures that soar to around 450 degrees Celsius. If we don’t change course, Earth could face a similar fate.
Hydrogen would have another plus that would be of great significance to Malawi: it would not require forex to be procured.