PREVALENCE OF COVID -19 PANDEMIC: A PARADIGM SHIFT TO HYDROGEN ECONOMY
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Faculty of Engineering, Lagos State University, Ojo. Nigeria
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Abstract
Covid-19 pandemic lockdown has slowed down the world economic system. The pandemic has cleared the roads,
close factories and grounded planes causing severe economic challenges. The damaging impact of the pandemic amid
lockdown has been a blessing in guise for the environment because of significant drop in pollution level as transport
and industrial sectors shutdown. Transport and industrial sectors are major contributors to environmental degradation
through various emissions as a result of fossil fuel consumption. Energy consumed by transport and industrial sectors
will have to shift to viable, readily available, clean, storable, economically and environmentally friendly with no
carbon build up post Covid-19 pandemic. Hydrogen energy remains the best alternative option technologies
containing greenhouse gas emission and pollutions of several forms. Hydrogen holds the potential to provide a clean,
reliable, renewable and economical source of energy for meeting the growing and unending global energy needs post
pandemic. The present paper explores prospect of hydrogen gas energy to serve as a competitive fuel option post
pandemic and the economic feasibility. In this paper, the role of hydrogen as an energy carrier, hydrogen economy
structure, potential of hydrogen economy, hydrogen production methods, hydrogen application and the economic and
environmental significance of hydrogen as a viable fuel option post Covid-19 pandemic were thoroughly discussed.
There will be a surge in demand and investment for hydrogen economy post Covid-19 to achieve decarbonization of
transport and industrial sectors.
Description
Since December 2019, there has been outbreak of novel corona virus named covid-19 reported to have emerged from
Wuhan in china. The disease continued to spread from China to many other parts of the world, affecting 196 countries
by March 25, 2020 [1]. This spread aroused the attention of everyone worldwide.
The transmission of the virus is from person to person through contacts influenced by environmental factors such as
climatic conditions, population’s concentration and medical quality [3]. In order to curtailed and controlled the spread
of Covid-19, many cities in the world lockdown completely. Majority of roads, factories/industries and airport have
been grounded in ordered to significantly reduce person to person contact and transmission. The consequent of the
decision to lockdown resulted in dramatic improvement in the pollution level of air, water and soil quality. The global
weather condition becomes better and the skies become blue and clearer. Covid-19 seems to be a blessing in disguise
for the environment and implying that transport and industrial sectors are major contributors to global pollutions.
Transport and industrial sectors have direct impact on global energy consumption. Restriction of both sectors have
brought down current oil demand and consequently lowered greenhouse gases. NASA satellite image have shown that
pollutions level reduces remarkably in Chinese cities, Western Europe, United States and Iran over the lockdown [4]
and suggesting that there must be a paradigm shift in world energy demand for a cleaner and greener energy after the
lockdown when transport and industrial sectors will be opened.
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Citation
Muhibbudin E.I., Adepoju M. O., Sanni M., Okoroji V.E. & Bassey D. A. (2020): Prevalence of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Paradigm Shift to Hydrogen Economy. Engineering & Technology Research Journal. 5 (2); 81-92, Published by Faculty of Engineering and Technology Lagos State University.