Thehydrogen economy is a term for the rolehydrogen as an energy carrier to complement electricity as part a long-term option to reduce emissions ofgreenhouse gases. The aim is to reduce emissions where cheaper and more energy-efficient clean solutions are not available.[2]: 1 In this context,hydrogen economy encompasses the production of hydrogen and the use of hydrogen in ways that contribute tophasing-out fossil fuels and limitingclimate change.
Hydrogen can be produced by several means. Most hydrogen produced today isgray hydrogen, made fromnatural gas throughsteam methane reforming (SMR). This process accounted for 1.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2021.[3]Low-carbon hydrogen, which is made using SMR withcarbon capture and storage (blue hydrogen), or through electrolysis of water using renewable power (green hydrogen), accounted for less than 1% of production.[4] Of the 100 million tonnes[5] of hydrogen produced in 2021, 43% was used in oil refining and 57% in industry, principally in the manufacture ofammonia for fertilizers, andmethanol.[6]: 18, 22, 29
Tolimit global warming, it is generally envisaged that the future hydrogen economy replace gray hydrogen with low-carbon hydrogen. As of 2024 it is unclear when enough low-carbon hydrogen could be produced to phase-out all the gray hydrogen.[7] The future end-uses are likely in heavy industry (e.g. high-temperature processes alongside electricity, feedstock for production ofgreen ammonia andorganic chemicals, as alternative to coal-derivedcoke forsteelmaking), long-haul transport (e.g. shipping, and to a lesser extenthydrogen-powered aircraft and heavy goods vehicles), and long-term energy storage.[8][9] Other applications, such as light duty vehicles and heating in buildings, are no longer part of the future hydrogen economy, primarily for economic and environmental reasons.[10][11] Hydrogen is challenging to store, to transport in pipelines, and to use. It presentssafety concerns since it is highly explosive, and it is inefficient compared to directuse of electricity. Since relatively small amounts of low-carbon hydrogen are available, climate benefits can be maximized by using it in harder-to-decarbonize applications.[11]
As of 2023[update] there are no real alternatives to hydrogen for several chemical processes in which it is currently used, such asammonia production forfertilizer.[12] The cost of low- and zero-carbon hydrogen is likely to influence the degree to which it will be used in chemical feedstocks, long haul aviation and shipping, and long-term energy storage. Production costs of low- and zero-carbon hydrogen are evolving.[13] Future costs may be influenced bycarbon taxes, the geography and geopolitics of energy, energy prices, technology choices, and their raw material requirements.[14] The U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen Hotshot Initiative seeks to reduce the cost of green hydrogen drop to $1 a kilogram by 2031,[15] though the cost of electrolyzers rose 50% between 2021 and 2024.[16]
The concept of a society that uses hydrogen as the primary means of energy storage was theorized by geneticistJ. B. S. Haldane in 1923. Anticipating the exhaustion of Britain's coal reserves for power generation, Haldane proposed a network of wind turbines to produce hydrogen and oxygen for long-term energy storage throughelectrolysis, to help address renewable power'svariable output.[17] The term "hydrogen economy" itself was coined byJohn Bockris during a talk he gave in 1970 atGeneral Motors (GM) Technical Center.[18] Bockris viewed it as an economy in which hydrogen, underpinned bynuclear andsolar power, would help address growing concern about fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution, by serving asenergy carrier for end-uses in whichelectrification was not suitable.[2][19]
A hydrogen economy was proposed by theUniversity of Michigan to solve some of the negative effects of usinghydrocarbon fuels where the carbon is released to the atmosphere (as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons, etc.). Modern interest in the hydrogen economy can generally be traced to a 1970 technical report byLawrence W. Jones of the University of Michigan,[20] in which he echoed Bockris' dual rationale of addressing energy security and environmental challenges. Unlike Haldane and Bockris, Jones only focused on nuclear power as the energy source for electrolysis, and principally on the use of hydrogen in transport, where he regarded aviation and heavy goods transport as the top priorities.[21]
In 1974International Energy Agency (IEA) and theInternational Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE) were established. These organizations had several initiatives including advocating for national strategies to increase interest and visibility of the hydrogen economy.[2]: 12
A spike in attention for thehydrogen economy concept during the 2000s was repeatedly described as hype by somecritics and proponents of alternative technologies,[23][24][25] and investors lost money in thebubble.[26] Interest in the energy carrier resurged in the 2010s, notably with the forming of theHydrogen Council in 2017. Several manufacturers released hydrogen fuel cell cars commercially, and manufacturers such as Toyota, Hyundai, and industry groups in China planned to increase numbers of the cars into the hundreds of thousands over the next decade.[27][28] However, the global scope for hydrogen's role in cars is shrinking relative to earlier expectations.[29][30] By the end of 2022, 70,200hydrogen vehicles had been sold worldwide,[31] compared with 26 millionplug-in electric vehicles.[32]
Early 2020s takes on the hydrogen economy share earlier perspectives' emphasis on the complementarity of electricity and hydrogen, and the use of electrolysis as the mainstay of hydrogen production.[8] They focus on the need to limitglobal warming to 1.5 °C and prioritize the production, transportation and use ofgreen hydrogen for heavy industry (e.g. high-temperature processes alongside electricity,[33] feedstock for production ofgreen ammonia and organic chemicals,[8] as alternative to coal-derived coke forsteelmaking),[34] long-haul transport (e.g. shipping, aviation and to a lesser extent heavy goods vehicles), and long-term energy storage.[8][9]
Since 2017, several countries and regions have released ahydrogen strategy, outlining their goals in developing hydrogen infrastructure and as a guide for private investment.[35] TheInternational Renewable Energy Agency has proposednational strategies as the first pillar of policies to promote green hydrogen.[35][36]
In 2017Japan published their strategy with a proposal to become the world's first "hydrogen society".[37] Many provinces and cities in China have established hydrogen strategies.[38] TheEuropean Union strategy, adopted[39] in 2021, outlines a plan to develop large scale infrastructure for hydrogen including electrolysers in collaboration with multiple trade organizations.[40] The US hydrogen strategy "presents a strategic framework for achieving large-scale production and use of hydrogen" over a 30 year period.[41] Analysis suggests that even nations reliant on exports ofnatural gas likeQatar could benefit from hydrogen strategies that leverage existing infrastructure, expertise, and markets.[42] As of 2021, 28 governments had published hydrogen strategies.[43] By 2024, that number reached 60.[44] However the actual strategies proposed are not necessarily based on climate friendlygreen hydrogen. The majority of the strategies have been characterized byscale first and clean later, meaning they add regulations to enhance the viability of green hydrogen but do not mandate it use.[43] Economic analysis shows few national strategies can make their 2030 goals.[45]
Hydrogen production globally was valued at over US$155 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow over 9% annually through 2030.[46]
In 2021, 94 million tonnes (Mt) of molecular hydrogen (H2) was produced.[47] Of this total, approximately one sixth was as a by-product ofpetrochemical industry processes.[4] Most hydrogen comes from dedicated production facilities, over 99% of which is from fossil fuels, mainly via steam reforming of natural gas (70%) and coal gasification (30%, almost all of which in China).[4] Less than 1% of dedicated hydrogen production is low carbon: steam fossil fuel reforming withcarbon capture and storage,green hydrogen produced using electrolysis, and hydrogen produced frombiomass.[4] CO2 emissions from 2021 production, at 915 MtCO2,[48] amounted to 2.5% of energy-related CO2 emissions[49] and 1.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[3]
Virtually all hydrogen produced for the current market is used inoil refining (40 MtH2 in 2021) and industry (54 MtH2).[6]: 18, 22 In oil refining, hydrogen is used, in a process known ashydrocracking, to convert heavy petroleum sources into lighter fractions suitable for use as fuels. Industrial uses mainly compriseammonia production to make fertilizers (34 MtH2 in 2021),methanol production (15 MtH2) and the manufacture ofdirect reduced iron (5 MtH2).[6]: 29
Hydrogen gas is produced by several industrial methods.[50] Nearly all of the world's current supply of hydrogen is created from fossil fuels.[51][52] Most hydrogen isgray hydrogen made throughsteam methane reforming. In this process, hydrogen is produced from a chemical reaction between steam andmethane, the main component of natural gas. Producing one tonne of hydrogen through this process emits 6.6–9.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide.[53] Whencarbon capture and storage is used to remove a large fraction of these emissions, the product is known asblue hydrogen.[54]
Green hydrogen is usually understood to be produced fromrenewable electricity viaelectrolysis of water.[55][56] Less frequently, definitions ofgreen hydrogen include hydrogen produced from other low-emission sources such asbiomass.[57] Producing green hydrogen is currently more expensive than producing gray hydrogen, and the efficiency of energy conversion is inherently low.[58] Other methods ofhydrogen production includebiomassgasification,methane pyrolysis, extraction of undergroundnatural hydrogen,[59][60] andin situ hydrogen synthesis.[61][62]
As of 2023, less than 1% of dedicated hydrogen production is low-carbon, i.e. blue hydrogen, green hydrogen, and hydrogen produced from biomass.[63]Greenmethanol is aliquid fuel that is produced from combiningcarbon dioxide andhydrogen (CO2 + 3 H2 → CH3OH + H2O) under pressure and heat withcatalysts. It is a way to reusecarbon capture for recycling. Methanol can store hydrogen economically atstandard outdoor temperatures and pressures, compared toliquid hydrogen andammonia that need to use a lot of energy to stay cold in theirliquid state.[64] In 2023 theLaura Maersk was the first container ship to run on methanol fuel.[65]Ethanol plants in the midwest are a good place for pure carbon capture to combine with hydrogen to make green methanol, with abundantwind andnuclear energy inIowa,Minnesota, andIllinois.[66][67] Mixing methanol withethanol could make methanol a safer fuel to use because methanol doesn't have a visible flame in the daylight and doesn't emit smoke, and ethanol has a visible light yellow flame.[68][69][70]Green hydrogen production of 70% efficiency and a 70% efficiency of methanol production from that would be a 49%energy conversion efficiency.[71][72]
Hydrogen can be deployed as a fuel in two distinct ways: infuel cells which produce electricity, and via combustion to generate heat.[74] When hydrogen is consumed in fuel cells, the only emission at the point of use is water vapor.[74] Combustion of hydrogen can lead to the thermal formation of harmfulnitrogen oxides emissions.[74]
In the context oflimiting global warming, low-carbon hydrogen (particularlygreen hydrogen) is likely to play an important role in decarbonizing industry.[75] Hydrogen fuel can produce the intense heat required for industrial production of steel, cement, glass, and chemicals, thus contributing to the decarbonization of industry alongside other technologies, such aselectric arc furnaces for steelmaking.[33] However, it is likely to play a larger role in providing industrial feedstock for cleaner production of ammonia and organic chemicals.[75] For example, insteelmaking, hydrogen could function as a clean energy carrier and also as a low-carbon catalyst replacing coal-derivedcoke.[34]
The imperative to use low-carbon hydrogen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has the potential to reshape the geography of industrial activities, as locations with appropriate hydrogen production potential in different regions will interact in new ways with logistics infrastructure, raw material availability, human and technological capital.[75]
Much of the interest in the hydrogen economy concept is focused onhydrogen vehicles, primarily forklifts, airport service vehicles, public transportation busses, cars and trucks.[76] Other applications are more speculative, including possiblehydrogen planes.[77][78] Hydrogen vehicles produce significantly less local air pollution than conventional vehicles.[79] By 2050, the energy requirement for transportation might be between 20% and 30% fulfilled by hydrogen andsynthetic fuels.[80][81][82]
Hydrogen used to decarbonize transportation is likely to find its largest applications inshipping, aviation and to a lesser extent heavy goods vehicles, through the use of hydrogen-derived synthetic fuels such asammonia andmethanol, and fuel cell technology.[8] Hydrogen has been used infuel cell buses for many years. It is also used as a fuel forspacecraft propulsion.
In theInternational Energy Agency's 2022 Net Zero Emissions Scenario (NZE), hydrogen is forecast to account for 2% of rail energy demand in 2050, while 90% of rail travel is expected to be electrified by then (up from 45% today). Hydrogen's role in rail would likely be focused on lines that prove difficult or costly to electrify.[83] The NZE foresees hydrogen meeting approximately 30% ofheavy truck energy demand in 2050, mainly for long-distance heavy freight (with battery electric power accounting for around 60%).[84]
Although hydrogen can be used in adaptedinternal combustion engines, fuel cells, beingelectrochemical, have an efficiency advantage over heat engines. Fuel cells are more expensive to produce than common internal combustion engines but also require higher purity hydrogen fuel than internal combustion engines.[85]
In the light road vehicle segment including passenger cars, by the end of 2022, 70,200 fuel cell electric vehicles had been sold worldwide,[31] compared with 26 million plug-in electric vehicles.[32] With the rapid rise ofelectric vehicles and associated battery technology and infrastructure, hydrogen's role in cars is minuscule.[29][30]
Green hydrogen, fromelectrolysis of water, has the potential to address thevariability of renewable energy output. Hydrogen energy is a clean fuel that produces only water when used in fuel cells. While most hydrogen comes from natural gas, green hydrogen from renewables offers a zero-emission alternative. Producing green hydrogen can both reduce the need for renewable powercurtailment during periods of high renewables output and bestored long-term to provide for power generation during periods of low output.[86][87]
An alternative to gaseous hydrogen as an energy carrier is to bond it withnitrogen from the air to produce ammonia, which can be easily liquefied, transported, and used (directly or indirectly) as a clean andrenewable fuel.[88][89] Among disadvantages of ammonia as an energy carrier are its high toxicity, energy efficiency ofNH3 production fromN2 andH2, and poisoning ofPEM Fuel Cells by traces of non-decomposedNH3 afterNH3 toN2 conversion.
Numerous industry groups (gas networks,gas boiler manufacturers) across the natural gas supply chain are promoting hydrogen combustion boilers for space and water heating, and hydrogen appliances for cooking, to reduce energy-related CO2 emissions from residential and commercial buildings.[90][91][11] The proposition is that current end-users of piped natural gas can await the conversion of and supply of hydrogen to existingnatural gas grids, and then swap heating and cooking appliances, and that there is no need for consumers to do anything now.[90][91][11]
A review of 32 studies on the question of hydrogen for heating buildings, independent of commercial interests, found that the economics and climate benefits of hydrogen for heating and cooking generally compare very poorly with the deployment ofdistrict heating networks, electrification of heating (principally throughheat pumps) and cooking, the use ofsolar thermal,waste heat and the installation ofenergy efficiency measures to reduce energy demand for heat.[11] Due to inefficiencies in hydrogen production, using blue hydrogen to replace natural gas for heating could require three times as muchmethane, while using green hydrogen would need two to three times as much electricity as heat pumps.[11] Hybrid heat pumps, which combine the use of an electric heat pump with a hydrogen boiler, may play a role in residential heating in areas where upgrading networks to meet peak electrical demand would otherwise be costly.[11]
The widespread use of hydrogen for heating buildings would entail higher energy system costs, higher heating costs and higher environmental impacts than the alternatives, although a niche role may be appropriate in specific contexts and geographies.[11] If deployed, using hydrogen in buildings would drive up the cost of hydrogen for harder-to-decarbonize applications in industry and transport.[11]
As of 2019[update] although technically possibleproduction of syngas from hydrogen and carbon-dioxide frombio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) via theSabatier reaction is limited by the amount of sustainable bioenergy available:[92] therefore anybio-SNG made may be reserved for production ofaviation biofuel.[93]
Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) can be produced from lowrank coal/lignite by using hydrogen.[94]
In hydrogen pipelines and steel storage vessels, hydrogen molecules are prone to react with metals, causinghydrogen embrittlement and leaks in the pipeline or storage vessel.[95] Since it is lighter than air, hydrogen does not easily accumulate to form a combustible gas mixture.[95] However, even without ignition sources, high-pressure hydrogen leakage may cause spontaneous combustion anddetonation.[95]
Hydrogen is flammable when mixed even in small amounts with air. Ignition can occur at a volumetric ratio of hydrogen to air as low as 4%.[96] In approximately 70% of hydrogen ignition accidents, the ignition source cannot be found, and it is widely believed by scholars that spontaneous ignition of hydrogen occurs.[95]
Hydrogen fire, while being extremely hot, is almost invisible, and thus can lead to accidental burns.[97] Hydrogen, like most gases, can causeasphyxiation in the absence of adequate ventilation.[98]
Ahydrogen infrastructure is the infrastructure of points ofhydrogen production, truck and pipeline transport, and hydrogen stations for the distribution and sale ofhydrogen fuel,[99] and thus a crucial prerequisite before a successful commercialization offuel cell technology.[100]
Hydrogen stations which are not situated near a hydrogen pipeline get supply viacompressed hydrogen tube trailers,liquid hydrogen trailers, liquid hydrogentank trucks or dedicated onsite production. Pipelines are the cheapest way to move hydrogen over long distances but must be designed to withstand the leakage and steelembrittlement caused by the hydrogen molecule. Hydrogen gas piping is routine in large oil-refineries, because hydrogen is used tohydrocrack fuels from crude oil. The IEA recommends existing industrial ports be used for production and natural gas pipelines for transport, international co-operation and shipping.[101]
South Korea andJapan,[102] which as of 2019 lacked internationalelectrical interconnectors, were investing in the hydrogen economy.[103] In March 2020, theFukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field was opened in Japan, claiming to be the world's largest hydrogen production facility.[104] Much of the site is occupied by asolar array; power from the grid is also used forelectrolysis of water to produce hydrogen fuel.[105]
Several methods exist for storinghydrogen.[106] These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand. While large amounts of hydrogen are produced by various industries, it is mostly consumed at the site of production, notably for the synthesis ofammonia. For many years hydrogen has been stored as compressed gas orcryogenic liquid, and transported as such in cylinders, tubes, and cryogenic tanks for use in industry or as propellant in space programs. The overarching challenge is the very low boiling point of H2: it boils around 20.268K (−252.882 °C or −423.188 °F). Achieving such low temperatures requires expending significant energy.
Although molecular hydrogen has very high energy density on a mass basis, partly because of its lowmolecular weight, as a gas at ambient conditions it has very low energy density by volume. If it is to be used as fuel stored on board a vehicle, pure hydrogen gas must be stored in an energy-dense form to provide sufficient driving range. Because hydrogen is the smallest molecule, it easily escapes from containers. Its effective 100-yearglobal warming potential (GWP100) is estimated to be 11.6 ± 2.8.Xcel Energy is going to build twocombined cycle power plants in theMidwest that can mix 30% hydrogen with the natural gas.[107]Intermountain Power Plant is being retrofitted to a natural gas/hydrogen power plant that can run on 30% hydrogen as well, and is scheduled to run on pure hydrogen by 2045.[108]
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: current prices need updating and white hydrogen adding. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2024) |
More widespread use of hydrogen in economies entails the need for investment and costs in its production, storage, distribution and use. Estimates of hydrogen's cost are therefore complex and need to make assumptions about the cost of energy inputs (typically gas and electricity), production plant and method (e.g. green or blue hydrogen), technologies used (e.g.alkaline orproton exchange membrane electrolysers), storage and distribution methods, and how different cost elements might change over time.[109]: 49–65 These factors are incorporated into calculations of the levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH). The following table shows a range of estimates of the levelized costs of gray, blue, and green hydrogen, expressed in terms of US$ per kg of H2 (where data provided in other currencies or units, the average exchange rate to US dollars in the given year are used, and 1 kg of H2 is assumed to have a calorific value of 33.3kWh).
| Production method | Note | Current cost (2020–2022) | Projected 2030 cost | Projected 2050 cost |
| Gray hydrogen (not including a carbon tax) | ||||
| International Energy Agency[110] | 2022 costs estimated for June, when gas prices peaked in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine | 2021: 1.0–2.5 | – | – |
| 2022: 4.8–7.8 | ||||
| PWC[111] | 2021: 1.2–2.4 | |||
| Blue hydrogen | ||||
| International Energy Agency[110] | 2022 costs estimated for June, when gas prices peaked in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine | 2021: 1.5–3.0 | – | – |
| 2022: 5.3–8.6 | ||||
| UK government[112] | Range dependent on gas price | 2020: 1.6–2.7 | 1.6–2.7 | 1.6–2.8 |
| GEP[113] | 2022: 2.8–3.5 | - | - | |
| Energy Transitions Commission[109]: 28 | 2020: 1.5–2.4 | 1.3–2.3 | 1.4–2.2 | |
| Green hydrogen | ||||
| International Energy Agency[110] | 2030 and 2050 estimates are using solar power in regions with good solar conditions | 2021: 4.0–9.0 | <1.5 | <1.0 |
| 2022: 3.0-4.3 | ||||
| UK government[112] | Using grid electricity, UK specific; range dependent on electricity price, and electrolyser technology and cost | 2020: 4.9–7.9 | 4.4–6.6 | 4.0–6.3 |
| Using otherwise curtailed renewable electricity, UK specific; range dependent on electrolyser technology and cost | 2020: 2.4–7.9 | 1.7–5.6 | 1.5–4.6 | |
| IRENA[114] | 2020: 2.2–5.2 | 1.4–4.1 | 1.1–3.4 | |
| GEP[113] | Source notes green H2 production cost has fallen by 60% since 2010 | 2022: 3.0–6.0 | ||
| Lazard[115] | 2022: 2.8–5.3 | |||
| PWC[111] | 2021: 3.5–9.5 | 1.8–4.8 | 1.2–2.4 | |
| Energy Transitions Commission[109]: 28 | 2020: 2.6–3.6 | 1.0–1.7 | 0.7–1.2 | |
The range of cost estimates for commercially available hydrogen production methods is broad. As of 2022, gray hydrogen is cheapest to produce without a tax on its CO2 emissions, followed by blue and green hydrogen. Blue hydrogen production costs are not anticipated to fall substantially by 2050,[112][109]: 28 can be expected to fluctuate with natural gas prices and could facecarbon taxes for uncaptured emissions.[109]: 79
The cost ofelectrolysers fell by 60% from 2010 to 2022,[113] but rose 50% between 2021 and 2024.[16]Oxford Institute for Energy Studies nevertheless projects that the cost of green hydrogen is likely to fall significantly towards 2030 and 2050,[116]: 26 alongside the falling cost of renewable power generation.[117][109]: 28 It is cheapest to produce green hydrogen with surplus renewable power that would otherwise becurtailed, which favors electrolyzers capable of responding to low andvariable power levels.[116]: 5
A 2022Goldman Sachs analysis anticipates that globally green hydrogen will achieve cost parity with grey hydrogen by 2030, earlier if a global carbon tax is placed on gray hydrogen.[14] In terms of cost per unit of energy, blue and gray hydrogen will always cost more than the fossil fuels used in its production, while green hydrogen will always cost more than the renewable electricity used to make it.
Subsidies for clean hydrogen production are much higher in the US and EU than in India.[118] The discovered price of green hydrogen in India is US$4.67 (INR 397) per kg as of June 2025.[119][120]
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2019) |
The distribution of hydrogen for the purpose of transportation is being tested around the world, particularly in the US (California,Massachusetts),Canada,Japan, the EU (Portugal,Norway, theNetherlands, Denmark,Germany), andIceland. Natural gas vehicles can also beconverted to run on hydrogen.[citation needed]
Also,fuel cell micro-CHP plants can be found inJapan and across theEuropean Union. Such units can operate on hydrogen, or other fuels as natural gas or LPG.[121][122] Under theene.field andPACE projects — both co-funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) — a total of approximately 3,646 fuel cell micro-CHP units were installed across the European Union and the UK.
Western Australia's Department of Planning and Infrastructure operated three Daimler Chrysler Citaro fuel cell buses as part of its Sustainable Transport Energy for Perth Fuel Cells Bus Trial in Perth from 2004 to 2007.[123]
By November 2020 theAustralian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) had invested $55 million in 28 hydrogen projects, from early stage research and development to early stage trials and deployments. The agency's stated goal is to produce hydrogen by electrolysis for $2 per kilogram, announced by Minister for Energy and Emissions Angus Taylor in a 2021 Low Emissions Technology Statement.[124]
In October 2021,Queensland PremierAnnastacia Palaszczuk and private investorAndrew Forrest announced that Queensland would be home to the world's largest hydrogen plant.[125] This was scrapped in 2025.[126]
In November 2024, theSouth Australian Government's plan to spend A$593 million on a 200MWhydrogen energy plant nearWhyalla was granted federal approval under theEPBC Act. The project was to be developed by the Office of Hydrogen Power SA,ATCO Australia, andBOC,[127] and intended "to supply additionalgrid stability for homes and businesses around the state, by using excess renewable energy generated from large-scale wind and solar farms to provide a consistent output of supply". Construction was scheduled to start in 2025, with completion and commissioning happening in 2026.[128] This plan was scrapped in early 2025[129]
EU Member States which have a relatively large natural gas pipeline system already in place includeItaly,Belgium,Germany,France, and theNetherlands.[130] In 2020, The EU launched its European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (ECHA).[131][132]
Green hydrogen has become more common in France. A €150 million Green Hydrogen Plan was established in 2019, and it calls for building the infrastructure necessary to create, store, and distribute hydrogen as well as using the fuel to power local transportation systems like buses and trains. Corridor H2, a similar initiative, will create a network of hydrogen distribution facilities inOccitania along the route between the Mediterranean and the North Sea. The Corridor H2 project will get a €40 million loan from theEIB.[133][134]
German car manufacturerBMW has been working with hydrogen for years.[quantify].[135]The German government has announced plans to hold tenders for 5.5 GW of new hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plants and 2 GW of "comprehensive H2-ready modernisations" of existing gas power stations at the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025[136]
Iceland has committed to becoming the world's first hydrogen economy by the year 2050.[137] Iceland is in a unique position. Presently,[when?] it imports all the petroleum products necessary to power its automobiles andfishing fleet. Iceland has large geothermal resources, so much that the local price of electricity actually islower than the price of the hydrocarbons that could be used to produce that electricity.
Iceland already converts its surplus electricity into exportable goods and hydrocarbon replacements. In 2002, it produced 2,000 tons of hydrogen gas by electrolysis, primarily for the production ofammonia (NH3) for fertilizer. Ammonia is produced, transported, and used throughout the world, and 90% of the cost of ammonia is the cost of the energy to produce it.
Neither industry directly replaces hydrocarbons.Reykjavík, Iceland, had a small pilot fleet of city buses running on compressed hydrogen,[138] and research on powering the nation's fishing fleet with hydrogen is under way (for example by companies asIcelandic New Energy). For more practical purposes, Iceland might process imported oil with hydrogen to extend it, rather than to replace it altogether.
The Reykjavík buses are part of a larger program, HyFLEET:CUTE,[139] operating hydrogen fueled buses in eight European cities. HyFLEET:CUTE buses were also operated in Beijing, China and Perth, Australia (see below). A pilot project demonstrating a hydrogen economy is operational on theNorwegian island ofUtsira. The installation combines wind power and hydrogen power. In periods when there is surplus wind energy, the excess power is used for generating hydrogen byelectrolysis. The hydrogen is stored, and is available for power generation in periods when there is little wind.[citation needed]
The discovered price of green hydrogen in India is US$ 3.9 (INR 328) per kg as of July 2025.[140][141] The discovered price of green ammonia in India is US$ 641 (INR 55,750) per tonne as of July 2025.[142]
India is said to adopt hydrogen and H-CNG, due to several reasons, amongst which the fact that a national rollout of natural gas networks is already taking place and natural gas is already a major vehicle fuel. In addition, India suffers from extreme air pollution in urban areas.[143][144] According to some estimates, nearly 80% of India's hydrogen is projected to be green, driven by cost declines and new production technologies.[145]
Currently however, hydrogen energy is just at the Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) stage.[146][147] As a result, the number of hydrogen stations may still be low,[148] although much more are expected to be introduced soon.[149][150][151]
It planning open first hydrogen publication stations, The Ministry of Climate and Environment (MKiŚ) will soon schan competitions for 2-3 hydrogen refueling stations, Polish Deputy Minister in this ministry Krzysztof Bolesta.[152]
Saudi Arabia as a part of theNEOM project, is looking to produce roughly 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia a year, beginning production in 2025.[153]
In Cairo, Egypt, Saudi real estate funding skyscraper project powered by hydrogen.[154]
The Ulsan Green Hydrogen Town is a hydrogen city project being developed inUlsan. As of October 2024, 188 km of underground pipelines have been laid to connect hydrogen produced as a byproduct from petrochemical complexes to the city center.[155]
TheTurkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and theUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization created theInternational Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (UNIDO-ICHET) inIstanbul in 2004 and it ran to 2012.[156] In 2023 the ministry published a Hydrogen Technologies Strategy and Roadmap.[157]
TheUK started a fuel cell pilot program in January 2004, the program ran two Fuel cell buses on route 25 inLondon until December 2005, and switched to route RV1 until January 2007.[158] The Hydrogen Expedition is currently working to create a hydrogen fuel cell-powered ship and using it to circumnavigate the globe, as a way to demonstrate the capability of hydrogen fuel cells.[159] In August 2021 the UK Government claimed it was the first to have a Hydrogen Strategy and produced a document.[160]
In August 2021, Chris Jackson quit as chair of the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, a leading hydrogen industry association, claiming that UK and Norwegian oil companies had intentionally inflated their cost projections for blue hydrogen in order to maximize futuretechnology support payments by the UK government.[161]
Several domesticU.S. automobile companies have developed vehicles using hydrogen, such as GM and Toyota.[162] However, as of February 2020, infrastructure for hydrogen was underdeveloped except in some parts of California.[163] TheUnited States have their ownhydrogen policy.[citation needed] A joint venture betweenNREL andXcel Energy is combining wind power and hydrogen power in the same way in Colorado.[164]Hydro inNewfoundland and Labrador are converting the currentwind-diesel Power System on the remote island ofRamea into aWind-Hydrogen Hybrid Power Systems facility.[165] Five pump station hubs being delivered to heavy-duty H2 trucks in Texas.[166] Hydrogen City built Green by Hydrogen International (GHI), to planning open in 2026.[167]
In 2006, Florida’s infrastructure project was commissioned.[168] First opened Orlando as public bus transportation, Ford Motor Company announced putting a fleet of hydrogen-fueled Ford E-450.[169][170] Liquidated hydrogen mobile system was constructed at Titusville.[171][172] An FPL’s pilot clean hydrogen facility operated in Okeechobee County.[173]
A similar pilot project onStuart Island usessolar power, instead ofwind power, to generate electricity. When excess electricity is available after the batteries are fully charged, hydrogen is generated by electrolysis and stored for later production of electricity by fuel cell.[174] The US also have a large natural gas pipeline system already in place.[130]
Việt Nam Energy Association have included green hydrogenation support.[175] Australian clean energy company Pure Hydrogen Corporation Limited announced on July 22 that it has signed an MoU with Vietnam public transportation.[176]
Thus, the concept of a hydrogen economy can be described as the utilization of hydrogen as an energy carrier for different sectors complementing electricity.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under theCC BY 3.0 license. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under theCC BY 4.0 license. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under theCC BY 4.0 license.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2025 (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Fields |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
