TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM
THE PROBLEM
Clean hydrogen costs too much.
Hydrogen can provide a zero-emission fuel for transportation as well as help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in
many tough-to-decarbonize sectors of our economy, including heavy-duty transportation, natural gas for
heat and power, chemicals manufacturing and steel production, however, the production of hydrogen
must be clean and affordable to achieve these goals.
Unlike coal or wind, hydrogen is not a readily accessible energy
source. Hydrogen is typically found in water (H2O) and natural
gas (or methane, CH4) and it must be extracted to be utilized as a
clean energy currency.
Steam methane reforming (SMR) is the current industry
standard and lowest cost option for large-scale H2
production. SMR, however, generates substantial
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are costly to
mitigate using carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).
By contrast, green H2 solutions using electrolysis from
renewable electricity are attractive for their ultra-low
emissions, but they are energy intensive and expensive. New
solutions are necessary to meet the growing demand for low
carbon-intensity fuels and decarbonized industrial feedstocks
... without adding cost.
