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Causes: The many colours of hydrogen – fossil fuel scam


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Home > Climate wiki > What causes climate change? > Greenhouse gases > Blue hydrogen

Most hydrogen is a fossil fuel scam

 Summary

“Perhaps surprisingly, the greenhouse gas footprint of blue hydrogen is more than 20% greater than burning natural gas or coal for heat and some 60% greater than burning diesel oil for heat.”  – Howarth et al, 2021

  • Hydrogen (H) is the most abundant element in the universe; it makes up 70% of the sun and 90% of Jupiter. On Earth, it is present as a gas in the atmosphere only in tiny amounts – less than 1 part per million by volume. Any pure hydrogen (H) that enters the atmosphere quickly escapes the Earth’s gravity into space. It is nevertheless abundant when combined with other molecules, like oxygen, to form compounds like water (H2O) and carbon to produce methane (CH4). In some underground locations, due to the chemical interaction between certain rocks and groundwater, it can be found as gas.
  • In its pure elemental form, hydrogen can be burned to generate energy. Because the only by-product is water, it is a clean source of energy that does not contribute to climate change. However, to produce hydrogen requires separating it from other compounds through electrolysis, which creates the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4. Moreover:
“It increases the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere…multiple studies have also found burning hydrogen in power plants increases formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a pollutant that causes smog, harms public health, and also contributes to warming“. – Lydersen, 2024

  • Blue hydrogen is a term invented by the fossil-fuel industry to greenwash dirty processes that release these greenhouse gases while claiming that some CO2 is captured and stored underground, with no evidence that it can’t escape (see Carbon Capture technologies this website).
  • The ‘colours’ of hydrogen refer to the type of fuel used to create the energy needed to extract hydrogen through electrolysis:

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Other sections

 Summary

“Perhaps surprisingly, the greenhouse gas footprint of blue hydrogen is more than 20% greater than burning natural gas or coal for heat and some 60% greater than burning diesel oil for heat.”  – Howarth et al, 2021

  • Hydrogen (H) is the most abundant element in the universe; it makes up 70% of the sun and 90% of Jupiter. On Earth, it is present as a gas in the atmosphere only in tiny amounts – less than 1 part per million by volume. Any pure hydrogen (H) that enters the atmosphere quickly escapes the Earth’s gravity into space. It is nevertheless abundant when combined with other molecules, like oxygen, to form compounds like water (H2O) and carbon to produce methane (CH4). In some underground locations, due to the chemical interaction between certain rocks and groundwater, it can be found as gas.
  • In its pure elemental form, hydrogen can be burned to generate energy. Because the only by-product is water, it is a clean source of energy that does not contribute to climate change. However, to produce hydrogen requires separating it from other compounds through electrolysis, which creates the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4. Moreover:
“It increases the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere…multiple studies have also found burning hydrogen in power plants increases formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a pollutant that causes smog, harms public health, and also contributes to warming“. – Lydersen, 2024

  • Blue hydrogen is a term invented by the fossil-fuel industry to greenwash dirty processes that release these greenhouse gases while claiming that some CO2 is captured andstored underground, with no evidence that it can’t escape (see Carbon Capture technologies this website).
  • The ‘colours’ of hydrogen refer to the type of fuel used to create the energy needed to extract hydrogen through electrolysis:
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