Energy Transition

How hydrogen can offer a clean energy future  

A Hyundai Tucson hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is filled at the pump by Derek Joyce in a photo op in Newport Beach, California June 9, 2014. The Tucson FCEV will be released this week and represents the next generation of electric vehicles that creates its own electricity, on-board, from hydrogen with zero greenhouse-gas emissions, emitting only water vapor. The car will offer a driving range over 250 miles and is capable of refueling in less than 10 minutes with a hose and nozzle similar to gasoline fueling.  REUTERS/Alex Gallardo

When hydrogen fuel is burnt, only water is produced. Image: REUTERS/Alex Gallardo

Fatih Birol
Executive Director, International Energy Agency


General Motors built its first vehicle powered by hydrogen in 1966. But instead of revolutionising the auto industry, the GM Electrovan ended up in a museum. Half a century later, we’re still waiting for hydrogen to live up to its promise as a clean energy technology.

The industry joke is that hydrogen is the fuel of the future — and it always will be. But that could be wrong. The huge challenges of climate change as well as the rise of the wind and solar industries are giving it new momentum, attracting fresh interest from governments and businesses well beyond the auto ­industry.

Most hydrogen produced now is not clean, but the technology to change that already exists. To understand how hydrogen can go from hype to reality it’s important to grasp the situation our energy system faces.

Right now, the world is moving away from the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change that aim to reduce carbon emissions quickly. To reverse that trend, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar will have to make up a far greater share of global supply, and fast. But they face difficulties, not least that the amount of electricity they produce can vary depending on the weather or the time of day or year, so it might not be flowing when people need it.

Hydrogen is one of the few ways of storing that variable energy. Other options include lithium-ion batteries — which power smartphones and electric cars — but they can’t compete with hydrogen in terms of scale. A big hydrogen storage facility in Texas, for instance, can hold about 1,000 times as much electricity as the world’s largest lithium-ion battery complex, in South Australia.

 Several countries have announced ambitious targets for FCEV deployment by 2030, which would raise the FCEV stock from 11 000 to 2.5 million.
Several countries have announced ambitious targets for FCEV (fuel cell electric vehicle) deployment by 2030, which would raise the FCEV stock from 11 000 to 2.5 million. Image: IEA

Clean hydrogen can do a lot more than just fuel cars. It can power trucks and ships and be a key raw material for refineries, chemical plants and steel mills — all of which now have few alternatives to today’s polluting processes.

Fortunately, these sectors tend to cluster at major industrial ports, offering great opportunities to build combined infrastructure. And hydrogen is already produced at ports to feed local chemical factories and refineries.

So, hydrogen offers tantalising promises of cleaner industry and emissions-free power: turning it into energy produces only water, not greenhouse gases. It’s also the most abundant element in the universe. What’s not to like?

One of the biggest issues is that by far the most common way to produce hydrogen is from fossil fuels. The amount generated from coal and natural gas this year for industrial uses would be enough, in theory, to power roughly half the cars on the road worldwide. But hydrogen production releases about the same amount of carbon emissions as the UK and Indonesia economies combined, according to an IEA report to be released next week.

Cleaning up these industries by capturing and storing their carbon emissions or supplying them with hydrogen from renewable sources represents a considerable challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to start building a global clean hydrogen industry for the future.

Another big difficulty is cost. Hydrogen from renewable electricity is two to three times more expensive than that produced from natural gas. But solar and wind costs have plummeted in recent years, and if they continue to fall clean hydrogen will become more affordable. Still, the technology that turns water into hydrogen (without producing carbon emissions) needs to be developed on a much greater scale to cut costs.

Have you read?

Governments will be crucial in determining whether hydrogen succeeds or fails. Most of the more than 200 projects under way still rely heavily on direct government funding, according to International Energy Agency analysis. But smart policies should encourage the private sector to secure long-term supplies of clean hydrogen and give investors the incentives to back the best businesses.

We also need to kick-start the international hydrogen trade with the first shipping routes. There are encouraging signs: Japan has several important pilot projects to figure out the best way to ship hydrogen over long distances.

Meanwhile, the EU has backed an initiative to make hydrogen a significant part of Europe’s efforts to decarbonise its economies.

The IEA will help governments craft the right policies. At the request of the Japanese presidency of the G20, we have carried out an in-depth study on the state of play of clean hydrogen, recommending immediate practical steps to foster its development. The report will be released next week at the meeting of the G20 energy ministers.

The world should not miss this unprecedented chance to make hydrogen a serious part of our sustainable energy future, rather than leaving it parked in a museum.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Energy Transition

Related topics:
Energy TransitionNature and BiodiversitySustainable Development
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Energy Transition is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

1:47

MICEE Deep Dive Colombia

The hidden fuel: energy efficiency lessons from the UAE

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum