Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be?
Summary: Electrolytic hydrogen from renewable sources is central to many nations’ net-zero emission strategies, serving as a low-carbon alternative for traditional uses and enabling decarbonization across multiple sectors. Current stringent policies in the EU and US are set to soon require hourly ti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002159 |
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| author | Marwan Sendi Matthias Mersch Niall Mac Dowell |
| author_facet | Marwan Sendi Matthias Mersch Niall Mac Dowell |
| author_sort | Marwan Sendi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Electrolytic hydrogen from renewable sources is central to many nations’ net-zero emission strategies, serving as a low-carbon alternative for traditional uses and enabling decarbonization across multiple sectors. Current stringent policies in the EU and US are set to soon require hourly time matching of renewable electricity generation used by electrolyzers, aimed at ensuring that hydrogen production does not cause significant direct or indirect emissions. While such requirements enhance the “green credentials” of hydrogen, they also increase its production costs. A modest relaxation of these requirements offers a practicable route for scaling up low-carbon hydrogen production, optimizing both costs and emission reductions. Moreover, in jurisdictions with credible and near-to-medium-term decarbonization targets, immediate production of electrolytic hydrogen utilizing grid electricity would have a lifetime carbon intensity comparable to or even below blue hydrogen and very significantly less than that of diesel, emphasizing the need to prioritize rapid grid decarbonization of the broader grid. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4bcdcfa550c64bcfbf8873ebc3bea64d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-4bcdcfa550c64bcfbf8873ebc3bea64d2025-08-20T02:11:05ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-03-0128311195510.1016/j.isci.2025.111955Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be?Marwan Sendi0Matthias Mersch1Niall Mac Dowell2Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; The Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UKDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; The Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London SW7 1NE, UKThe Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London SW7 1NE, UK; Corresponding authorSummary: Electrolytic hydrogen from renewable sources is central to many nations’ net-zero emission strategies, serving as a low-carbon alternative for traditional uses and enabling decarbonization across multiple sectors. Current stringent policies in the EU and US are set to soon require hourly time matching of renewable electricity generation used by electrolyzers, aimed at ensuring that hydrogen production does not cause significant direct or indirect emissions. While such requirements enhance the “green credentials” of hydrogen, they also increase its production costs. A modest relaxation of these requirements offers a practicable route for scaling up low-carbon hydrogen production, optimizing both costs and emission reductions. Moreover, in jurisdictions with credible and near-to-medium-term decarbonization targets, immediate production of electrolytic hydrogen utilizing grid electricity would have a lifetime carbon intensity comparable to or even below blue hydrogen and very significantly less than that of diesel, emphasizing the need to prioritize rapid grid decarbonization of the broader grid.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002159ElectrochemistryElectrochemical energy productionEnergy policy |
| spellingShingle | Marwan Sendi Matthias Mersch Niall Mac Dowell Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be? iScience Electrochemistry Electrochemical energy production Energy policy |
| title | Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be? |
| title_full | Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be? |
| title_fullStr | Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be? |
| title_short | Electrolytic hydrogen production; how green must green be? |
| title_sort | electrolytic hydrogen production how green must green be |
| topic | Electrochemistry Electrochemical energy production Energy policy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002159 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marwansendi electrolytichydrogenproductionhowgreenmustgreenbe AT matthiasmersch electrolytichydrogenproductionhowgreenmustgreenbe AT niallmacdowell electrolytichydrogenproductionhowgreenmustgreenbe |