Over the past 50 years, enthusiasm for hydrogen was limited largely to the transportation sector. Interest rose regularly alongside the price of oil and gas and waned when those prices fell again. With increasing concerns about the effects of climate change and the awareness of hydrogen’s potential to help achieve large emission reductions, interest in all forms of hydrogen, but especially the green H2 generated using renewable energy, now spans across all sectors of the economy.
Increasing use of hydrogen to replace fossil fuels and for storing energy would make it possible to reach the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, the EU’s climate-neutral strategy for 2050 and the UK climate change act, just to name a few of the policies now in place in countries all over the world.
Only hydrogen can help ensure that the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector continues – and with it the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the declining costs for renewable energy and the increasing share of renewables in our energy mix are rapidly increasing awareness for hydrogen’s potential in storing solar and wind power.
The challenge is now, to create a new ecosystem to harness the power of hydrogen for lasting change.