Climate Change Responses: Expect Big Things for Hydrogen?
“Expect big expansion in the use of clean hydrogen energy—that has been a periodic mantra in the climate change press for years. While commercial scale development continues to face serious technical and cost barriers, there now may be reason for optimism,” write Gerald F. George, Richard M. Glick, and William M. Friedman in Davis Wright Tremaine’s blog.
“The use of hydrogen as an energy source is not new, but is limited. It accounts for about 2 percent of current energy use in the United States. To that end, expanding that use to positively affect climate change would require more than simply increasing the supply.”
“Until recently, hydrogen as a fuel has been primarily developed by steam reforming of a feedstock, with the carbon emissions dependent upon the feedstock. Typically, the feedstock would be natural gas, producing what is commonly referred to as “blue hydrogen” (if coal is the feedstock, “brown” hydrogen). Thus, while the use of hydrogen produces no carbon emissions, the production of the hydrogen itself typically results in significant carbon emissions, although the volume may be reduced through carbon capture.”
