2 Stocks That Could Benefit From Hydrogen Power

The problem with renewable energy sources like wind and solar is their intermittent nature and the fact that it is hard to store electricity on a large scale, the way we do with oil or natural gas. Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Megapack, in which large-scale batteries store power for use in peak periods or when renewable sources can't generate electricity, may prove to be the solution to the storage problem. However, it is still in the nascent stage. In the meantime, there is another possibility: hydrogen.

Most of us will remember the high school chemistry experiment of separating water into hydrogen and oxygen by running a current through it (the process is called electrolysis). This is a roundabout way of solving the storage problem -- by using solar or wind power to create electricity, excess power can be used to convert seawater into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be transported via pipeline or stored locally in lieu of using a natural gas peaker plant. If the electric power is created with zero-emission wind or solar, the carbon footprint will approach zero.

Image source: Getty Images.

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Source Fool.com