HYDROGEN : A REVOLUTIONARY

MATERIAL FOR AGRICULTURE

Submitted to : Mona Ma’am

Submitted By : Riya Arya - 21MSC1279
MST 2 - SEMINAR PRESENTATION
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LITERATURE VIEWS :

INTRODUCTION
 Hydrogen gas (H2) was first identified as a unique molecular messenger in animals. Since
H2 was reported as a novel antioxidant, it has been proven effective in treating many
diseases. However, the studies concerning H2 in plants are just beginning to emerge.
 Here, two paths of H2 production in plants have been reported, namely, hydrogenase and
nitrogenase. H2 has positive effects on seed germination, seedling growth, adventitious
rooting, root elongation, harvest freshness, stomatal closure and anthocyanin synthesis.
 H2 also can enhance plant symbiotic stress resistance commonly through the enhancement
of antioxidant defense system. Moreover, H2 shows cross talk with nitric oxide, carbon
monoxide and other signaling molecules (for example, abscisic acid, ethylene and
jasmonate acid).
 H2 can regulate the expression of responsive genes under abiotic stress and during
adventitious roots formation and anthocyanin biosynthesis.
 Future work will need to focus on the molecular mechanism of H2 and its crosstalk with
other signalling molecules in plants. With its promising application in agriculture,
hydrogen agriculture will be welcomed in the near future.
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 Many years ago, the significance of hydrogen gas (H 2) to human life became apparent. As early
as in 1937, Paneth (1937) reported that the tropospheric mixing ratio of H 2 in the atmosphere
was about 0.5 ppmv (parts per million by volume), equivalent to 34.5 ppbw (parts per billion
by weight).
 Although the content of hydrogen is very low, it plays an important role in maintaining
oxidation state of earth atmosphere. H 2 affects almost every aspect of our lives.
 For example, due to its high energy density and ability to store and retain energy after
combustion, H2 has been widely used, especially in the energy industry for applications such as
hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles.
 By 2019, 42 scientific research institutions in India had participated in research on hydrogen
biology, and a landmark event is the establishment of the Center of Hydrogen Science at
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai, India).
 The new center is headed by Prof. Wen-jiang DING, Academician of Chinese Academy of
Engineering. In order to expand commercial applications of H 2, some companies have also
begun to focus their attention on hydrogen medicine and hydrogen agriculture.
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 In the history of hydrogen biology, hydrogen medicine was ahead of hydrogen agronomy.
The effects of H2 as an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic agent have been
elucidated by several animal models or small-scale clinical trials.
 Moreover, H2 can not only inhibit tumors, but it also has positive effects on oxidative
stress-related diseases, such as ischemia reperfusion injury, acute ischemic disease,
Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and atherosclerosis. Although the hypothesis of
H2 as a selective antioxidant is widely accepted, in some cases, it also still questioned by
academia, and the molecular mechanisms underlying anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory,
and anti-apoptosis effects of H2 in medicine need to be further elucidated. More
importantly, the potentially important development of hydrogen agronomy cannot be
ignored.
 Several research groups have found that H2 has important biological effects on crops. In
2003 put forward the concept of “H2 fertilization,” which was a milestone in the
advancement of hydrogen agronomy. H2 can change the structure of microbial
communities and ultimately promotes soil fertility by promoting community growth of
beneficial microorganisms.
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 Thus, the essence of H2 effects in agronomy is as a type of special biofertilizer. In this role,
H2 produced from symbiotic Rhizobium leguminosarum had been shown to promote crop
rotation. Furthermore, some studies suggested that H 2 might enhance plant tolerance
towards abiotic and biotic stresses, and improve the quality of vegetables and fruits.
 With support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of
India, hydrogen agronomy is developing quickly. By 2019, 85 projects on hydrogen
biology have been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of India, of
which nine were related to hydrogen agronomy.
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HYDROGEN REVOLUTION
• Agricultural Status In India

 Food is the fuel of life. As important sources of food, agriculture is one of the foundations
of social development, and occupies an important position in people’s lives.
 According to data, the agricultural output and its gross output value keep sustainable
increase.
 However, pressures from increasing population, reduction in arable land, extreme weather,
and increasing demand for cereals like maize for both fodder and fuel, are important
factors restricting the development of agriculture in India.
 Soil plays a key role in agricultural development and biodiversity of agricultural
production systems. Soil degradation is a serious problem not only in India but also
throughout the world.
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 Crop acreage during last 6 years in India shows a volatile trend, and maize and rice are the
first and second major crops, based on data released by the Ministry of Natural Resources
of the People’s Republic of India and the United States Department of Agriculture.
 Although the main reasons for reduction in crop acreage include ecological land transfer
and agricultural structure adjustment, according to official findings, the potential
contradiction between growing population and cropland cannot be easily ignored.
 As we all know, modern agriculture is closely integrated not only with traditional planting
and breeding industries, but also with secondary industries, including manufacturing and
food processing, and with tertiary industries, such as transportation, technology, and
information. Hydrogen agronomy has also no exception.
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• Hydrogen Agronomy Needs To Be Developed

 Although the core of both hydrogen agronomy and hydrogen medicine is human health, the
practices of these two programs are different, including targets, methods of H2 supply, and degree
of difficulty. The ultimate practical goal of hydrogen medicine is human health.
 Unlike hydrogen medicine, hydrogen agronomy is not only a laboratory-based research study,
but also has potential applications for agricultural production, dubbed hydrogen agriculture, with
the goal of growing food in an affordable, healthy, and sustainable manner for human beings.
 Traditional agriculture consumes a large volume of agrochemicals, especially fertilizers and
pesticides. As a gaseous signaling molecule, H2 has been studied extensively in recent years.
 Hydrogen agronomy focuses mainly on the molecular mechanisms underlying hydrogen-rich
water (HRW)-or H2-increased yield and/or H2-improved quality of agricultural products.
 Additionally, we should be aware of the problems probably caused by the application of H2 on
human society. In particular, H2 is used for clean energy in industry, and future development of
hydrogen economy in agriculture could also result in more anthropogenic emissions of H2.
 In developing hydrogen agriculture, the influence of increasing global H2 concentration in
atmosphere cannot be easily ignored. Therefore, the impact of hydrogen economy on human
beings and the planet should be carefully evaluated in the near future.
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HYDROGEN FERTILIZER
 The essence of hydrogen agronomy in the narrow sense has been previously regarded as “hydrogen
fertilizer.” Unlike traditional fertilizers that supply nutrients (N, P, and trace nutrients), “hydrogen
fertilizer” exerts the roles of fertilizer in the soil through supplying H 2.
 This “hydrogen fertilizer” is not a nutrient but exerts its beneficial effects through other
mechanisms. In the forms of HRW and H2 gas, H2 is the protagonist of hydrogen agronomy, and its
potentials in the production, transportation, storage, and sales of agricultural products have been
repeatedly demonstrated.
 Previous research has found that the rates of oxygen and carbon dioxide uptake in soils are
influenced by H2, especially near nodulated legume roots, dramatically modifies microbial
populations, by selectively enhancing the populations of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria
(PGPRs). This phenomenon is used to explain the benefits of using legumes in crop rotation with
wheat and other non-legumes. The weight of fixed nitrogen in one hectare of legume crop is about
200 kg per season; meanwhile, the volume of H 2 produced during above process is about 240 000 L.
 The evolution of H2 from roots of nodulated grain legumes fluctuates between 0.06 and 0.51
mmol/(h·g nodule dry weight. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that H 2 can exert
tremendous biological effects in agriculture.
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THE FUTURE FOR HYDROGEN ON-FARM

 Hydrogen Terminology
• Renewable or Green Hydrogen is hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
• Blue Hydrogen is produced from natural gas, usually via steam-reforming, with carbon
capture storage (CCS).
• Brown Hydrogen is produced from coal-fired electricity.
 At the Farm scale, vehicle manufacturers such as New Holland are developing
prototype tractors that run on hydrogen derived from ammonia and Neil Thompson of ITM
Power mentioned at the 2019 Renewable in Agriculture Conference that there are many smaller
scale options for farm including small scale electrolysis and fuel cell farm vehicles. 
 In the agriculture supply chain, a number of large projects are underway including
the Gladstone integrated abattoir which aims to provide its own energy with 78MW of solar
capacity and a 33MW hydrogen plant to be built. There are also two
Queensland projects which aim to produce green hydrogen for ammonia
from a 150MW electrolyser powered by a 220MW Solar array at Moura 
and a 160 MW electrolyser powered by a 210MW solar array Moranbah. 
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 There is a significant amount of research and development into technologies to efficiently

produce hydrogen on-farm, such as plasmalysis to generate hydrogen from the nitrogen
and carbon compounds (e.g. ammonium) in manure. In Australia, researchers are testing
whether bacteria could produce bio-Hydrogen, while there are also companies
developing hydrogen storage technologies. 
 A number of major Motorcycle, Car, Truck and Engine manufacturers are developing
hydrogen combustion or fuel cell vehicles as well as investigating the potential
for injection into diesel engines. In New Zealand, a prototype fuel call Quadbike has been
developed. 
 It might not be long before hydrogen is an affordable and practical option for use on
farms. A number of practical uses in the near future could include: 
• On-farm solar systems produce to hydrogen with an electrolyser for when the system isn’t
supplying power to a pump or shed – for example when irrigation systems are not being
used and export to the grid is unavailable. 
• Conversion of farm vehicles and generators to fuel cells to utilise on-farm hydrogen 
• Production of hydrogen from animal wastes, for use in heating systems, or in a fuel cell
to provide power for lighting and ventilation. 
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks and gratitude to my teachers as well as our
supervisors who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
Hydrogen : A Revolutionary Material For Agriculture, which also helped me in doing a lot
of research and I came to know about so many new things.
I am really thankful to them. Secondly, I would also like to thank my friends who helped me
in finishing this project in limited time.
It really helped me increase my knowledge and skills.
Thanks for everyone who helped.
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CONCLUSION
 Many people, including myself, believe that hydrogen will become an important fuel and
that an increasing number of people will drive hydrogen-powered cars in the future. There is
a global increase in interest for hydrogen from companies.
 We cannot just continue burning petrol and diesel. These resources are getting depleted and
emit a lot of CO2 when burned, which contributes to global warming. Vehicles powered by
hydrogen emit only water. Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.
 It has been said for some time; hydrogen is a sustainable solution.
 Researchers strive to make a significant step forward in increasing the sustainability of
agriculture. Not an easy task, but the research carried out at experimental farm places in an
excellent position to contribute to this goal. They focus not only on energy but also invest in
biodiversity and reducing carbon emissions and the use of pesticides. All these elements are
integrated in the “Farm of the Future”.
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