Perspective of hydrogen energy in Bangladesh

The per capita availability of non-commercial energy is gradually decreasing as the population of Bangladesh (114 min) is increasing at a fast rate (2.6 min per year). The extent of deforestation has attained an alarming situation in the country. The commercial energy resources of Bangladesh are very scarce and will not be sufficient to cater the future needs. In order to meet the demand for more energy, new energy options are needed. None of the new energy sources known to date is in a convenient form for use except the hydrogen energy. Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission has undertaken a programme to evolve and execute a modest R and D programme on hydrogen production from electrochemical recycling of scrap iron and photochemical diode which has the best prospects of the solar-based direct hydrogen production process. In this paper some concepts and preliminary findings on hydrogen production based on fuel cells are discussed