Hydrogen Driving the Energy Transition: Episode 8
by
Jules Verne first imagined using hydrogen generated from water in his 1875 novel 鈥淢ysterious Island.鈥� Now, we can use renewable or nuclear electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The resulting hydrogen is a molecular energy vector (fuel), which can be combusted for heat, or used to produce electrical power via a fuel cell which avoids the energy penalty of combustion (heat) engines. Whether burned or reacted in a fuel cell, hydrogen produces only water vapor as primary product, and hence is considered 鈥渮ero emission鈥�.
While it takes twice as much energy to make hydrogen compared to directly using renewable energy to generate electricity, its higher energy density makes it a promising option for many applications. Hydrogen could supply up to 20% of future energy needs with near-zero emissions.1
UH ETI recently participated in a book describing hydrogen global applications, which is free for download.2
More episodes are available at
Reference:
1 DOE (2023): U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap.
2 W. J. Nuttall, J. B. Powell, K. L. Anaya-Stucchi, A. T. Bakenne and A. Wilson, Insights into the New Hydrogen Economy, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2025.