Why the hydrogen rainbow doesn’t tell the whole story

June 16, 2022

There’s one energy source the world is increasingly betting on in the race to decarbonize the economy: hydrogen.

The most abundant element in the universe could be a game changer in reducing emissions from steel, cement, ships and more.

While general agreement exists on that potential, disagreement is emerging on everything else: how to ensure it’s clean, how to prioritize its use and what policies are best to kickstart the industry.

The hydrogen debate has been…colorful. Grey, blue, green, pink and other shades have become a common parlance among energy experts in discussing hydrogen’s emissions profile.

Using colors to label hydrogen is an approachable way to debate the future of a nascent industry—but it’s also rigid, oversimplified and doesn’t capture the whole picture.

“There is a whole system involved with making and using hydrogen, and the whole thing needs to be accounted for in assessing carbon intensity,” said Adria Wilson, a policy specialist at Breakthrough Energy with expertise on hydrogen. “We need to be doing lifecycle analyses instead of focusing on the point of production.”

Read more here.

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