Companies are pouring a lot of money into the idea that hydrogen can help decarbonize the fossil-fuel-based economy.But first, they have to figure out a way to produce that hydrogen more cheaply.
Today, hydrogen is mostly used in the production of fossil fuels and to make ammonia, an ingredient in many fertilizers. But it is also promoted as fuel for heating or transportation or power for industrial processes.
One drawback to hydrogen as a form of green energy, however, is that nearly all of the world’s hydrogen is produced in a greenhouse-gas-intensive process: heating natural gas with steam to split it into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This type of hydrogen is known as gray hydrogen, or sometimes blue hydrogen if the factory has carbon-capture technology.
The main low-carbon alternative for producing hydrogen, dubbed green hydrogen, is made by passing renewable…
Startups Look for Ways to Bring Down the Cost of Green Hydrogen
