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Green Hydrogen
Practical Law Glossary Item w-029-4460 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Green Hydrogen
A fuel produced using a chemical process known as electrolysis where an electrical current is used to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. The electricity used to power this process is derived from renewable sources (such as solar or wind) instead of fossil fuels and results in no carbon emissions. Green hydrogen is considered essential to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and to transition from fossil fuels because of the many advantages it offers. These advantages include:
- Abundance. There is more hydrogen in the universe than any other element.
- Versality. It can be used where it is produced or transported elsewhere and stored in large amounts for a long time.
- Ease of production. Hydrogen can be produced wherever there is water and electricity to generate more electricity or heat.
- Flexibility. Hydrogen can be used to:
- generate electricity;
- power heavy duty vehicles, ships, and planes;
- make certain products (for example, fertilizer); and
- replace other fuels in energy intensive manufacturing including steel, cement and petrochemicals.
Green hydrogen and blue hydrogen are two fuels currently being developed to transition to a cleaner energy future. Other types of hydrogen include:
- Gray hydrogen which is also produced from natural gas but without the use of carbon capture technology. This is the most common type of hydrogen currently being produced.
- Brown or black hydrogen which is produced from coal gasification. The color depends on the type of coal used with:
- brown hydrogen produced from lignite coal; and
- black hydrogen produced from bituminous coal.
- Pink hydrogen which is produced through electrolysis powered by nuclear energy. This is also referred to as purple or red hydrogen.
There are no green hydrogen plants operating at commercial scale in the US, but there are several pilot and demonstration projects in development.
For information on the Paris Agreement, see Practice Note, UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.