In efforts to clean up hydrogen, clean energy struggles to take the lead

Because of the enormous expectations placed on hydrogen adoption, clean energy is falling behind fossil fuels in the fight to decarbonize industry.

In theory, this plentiful element has the potential to revolutionize climate change by facilitating the emission-free manufacturing of vital commodities such as cement, steel, petrochemicals, and fertilizer. This kind of change would be enormous because around 25% of the world's carbon emissions come from industrial plants, not from power plants or automobiles.

A single technique may be just as revolutionary as solar energy, wind farms, and electric cars if it could decarbonize all of these industries. Hydrogen's potential isn't yet matched by its actuality, though. Currently, "green hydrogen production," which is created by using energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, makes up less than 1% of the total hydrogen utilized.

The vast majority is "gray hydrogen production," which is produced using coal, oil, or natural gas and releases a lot of carbon dioxide. It was anticipated by optimists that, like with other green technology, the cost of water-splitting electrolyzers and the clean energy required to power them would drop quickly. Sadly, it appears that the opposite is occurring, and in the absence of intervention, dirtier hydrogen varieties are becoming more popular.

Instead of forcing large customers to use green hydrogen, government regulations have primarily subsidized producers—the exact opposite strategy that helped spark the renewable energy boom of the 2000s. Project developers may be deterred by trade tensions from investing in less expensive electrolyzers manufactured in China, despite the potential for large cost savings.

In order to lower financing costs, lower interest rates are required, and increased public backing for clean power is crucial to entice capital to engage in this high-risk, emerging technology. Although these obstacles might seem overwhelming, they are comparable to those that wind, solar, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles have surmounted. There's no reason green hydrogen can't have the same kind of success. However, Big Oil is ready to intervene and take control of the industry if political support wanes.