Hy-Powered: “Green hydrogen” could one day replace fossil fuels

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Hydrogen is matter in its simplest form: just one proton and one electron. But the simple element represents a game-changing opportunity to power the planet without harming it.

“Hydrogen has supported energy and industrial processes for decades, but we’re seeing a fundamental shift today,” says Greg Gosnell, CEO of liquid hydrogen infrastructure solutions provider GenH2. “It is evolving from a niche industrial input into foundational clean energy infrastructure.”

Experts say that hydrogen-based power could help slow climate change. But we’re not quite there yet.

Big Potential

Hydrogen already helps to power some industrial processes, but most of it is still made from fossil fuels.

Low-emissions hydrogen, or “green hydrogen,” is on the rise, says Paul Matter, cofounder and CEO of Power to Hydrogen (P2H2), a startup whose technology enables low-cost green hydrogen production.

Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable electricity — think wind, solar or hydroelectric — to perform electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, with no carbon emissions. “Clean green” hydrogen is still in its early days,” Matter says — but the momentum is building.

“Governments, utilities and private industry are investing not only in production but also in storage, liquefaction, transport and systems integration,” Gosnell says. “We are moving from pilot projects to early commercial buildout. Federal incentives, private capital and global decarbonization mandates are accelerating deployment.”

Experts point to a range of potential use cases for green hydrogen.

“For example, hydrogen can be used in a unique way to decarbonize steel … replacing traditional fossil sources,” says Emily Kunkel, associate principal at global engineering and applied science firm Thornton Tomasetti.

“Hydrogen can also be stabilized or converted to ammonia and used for long-distance, heavy-duty transportation like marine shipping,” she says. Green hydrogen energy storage systems “can allow for large-scale, long-duration energy storage at a lower levelized cost and higher energy density than batteries.”

Gosnell sees vast potential. Green hydrogen “is an excellent fuel source for rail, aviation and marine applications. With the proliferation of hydrogen fuel-cell forklifts in large commercial warehouses, hydrogen is being stored and dispensed to support materials-handling operations,” he says.

As a general energy source, “hydrogen may initially be utilized as a clean source, replacing diesel generators to provide backup energy,” he says. “Ultimately, hydrogen will become a primary source of power for high energy consumption-use cases, including megascale AI data centers, seaports and even entire cities.”

How To Get There

What will it take for green hydrogen to go mainstream?

First, there’s what Kunkel calls a classic “chicken or the egg” problem. Businesses don’t want to build out hydrogen-based uses until there’s a reliable source, and hydrogen producers won’t ramp up production without committed end users.

“One way to work around this is to first generate an end user that still has a business case with traditional hydrogen sources that already exist … then woo green hydrogen developers to help switch their feedstock,” she says. “Having the ability to switch between multiple feedstocks will give the business case more resiliency.”

Clear and consistent regulations would help, too.

“When any company or industry is considering making multibillion-dollar investments in assets that last 20 years or longer … unstable regulatory environments discourage activity,” Matter says. “The rules of the game need to be clear for the game to be played.”

This is a re-post of an article written by Adam Stone of USA Today. Click here to view the original article.