In recent years, hydrogen seems to have become the new buzzword in the fight against climate change. As governments and industries seek to transition towards cleaner energy sources, hydrogen is stealing the spotlight. To date, 12 countries have published national hydrogen strategies, with nine published within the last year alone. Surely, hydrogen holds promises, as it is “clean” and can be used to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. However, just as with all other “hypes”, its feasibility and potential impacts need to be carefully examined. Hydrogen may not be the silver bullet for sustainable energy solutions as it has been advertised. 

First, not all hydrogen is “clean”. Today, 95% of hydrogen is produced from steam reforming of natural gas, a process that requires lots of energy and emits large amounts of carbon dioxide. Although the natural gas industry has proposed capturing the carbon dioxide produced, namely “blue” hydrogen, fuel produced in this manner still emits more greenhouse gas across its entire supply chain than simply burning natural gas. According to Robert W. Howarth, a biogeochemist and ecosystem scientist at Cornell, who recently published a study on this topic said: “To call it a zero-emissions fuel is totally wrong. What we found is that it’s not even a low-emissions fuel, either.” Proponents of hydrogen claim that hydrogen can be used as a transition fuel from fossil-based to renewable-based energy production, and that hydrogen fuel will become “green” as it will increasingly be made using renewable energy. However, this is currently difficult to achieve and also unlikely to occur in the near future, because the process used to produce “green” hydrogen — electrolyzing water to separate hydrogen atoms from oxygen — is energy intensive and expensive.

This leads us to the next point: cost remains a key barrier for low-carbon hydrogen to be competitive. At present, hydrogen produced from fossil fuel ranges from 0.5 to 1.7 USD per kg. Blue hydrogen using Carbon Capture System (CCS) to reduce emissions costs around 1 to 2 USD per kg. Green hydrogen costs two to three times more, at around 3 to 8 USD per kg. While the cost of green hydrogen is expected to fall significantly with rapidly developing electrolysis technologies, closing the cost gap will take time and scale. 

Another remaining challenge is the difficulty in transporting hydrogen. Because hydrogen is much less dense than gasoline, it either needs to be liquified at an extremely low temperature or gasified through compression. Natural gas pipelines can be altered to distribute hydrogen, but it will still incur significant cost. Storing hydrogen is also expensive because fuel cells require platinum for catalysis. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have been introduced in the market, but they still require great amounts of government subsidy and their distribution has been limited.

Hydrogen can potentially play a critical role in decarbonization strategies, but factors such as regulations, market design, and the cost of power and electrolyzer production are still major barriers to its uptake. While hydrogen is an important technology that can be used alongside other renewable energy sources, it is far from being a silver bullet. Tackling the climate crisis requires a multifaceted approach from industries, governments, and individuals across all sectors including energy, food, and transport. Every contribution is valuable, but no piece of technology will magically solve it.