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Causes: The many colours of hydrogen – fossil fuel scam

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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 and is completely colourless. As a gas, it makes up 70% of the sun, and 90% of the planet 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 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, which creates the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4.
  • Blue hydrogen is a term invented by the fossil-fuel industry to greenwash its dirty processes that release both carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4 into the atmosphere while claiming that some CO2 is stored underground, with no evidence that it can’t escape (see Carbon Capture technologies this website).
  • The colours used to name hydrogen refer to the processes uses to create it:
    • Blue: fossil fuel greenwashing of black, brown, or grey hydrogen
    • Black: from back coal
    • Brown: from lignite or brown coal
    • Grey: from methane
    • Red: using nuclear energy to power any of the above or electrolosis
    • Green: from water separating it (electrolosis) using green energy
Video 1

  Causes

Other sections

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

 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 and is completely colourless. As a gas, it makes up 70% of the sun, and 90% of the planet 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 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, which creates the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4.
  • Blue hydrogen is a term invented by the fossil-fuel industry to greenwash its dirty processes that release both carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4 into the atmosphere while claiming that some CO2 is stored underground, with no evidence that it can’t escape (see Carbon Capture technologies this website).
  • The colours used to name hydrogen refer to the processes uses to create it:
    • Blue: fossil fuel greenwashing of black, brown, or grey hydrogen
    • Black: from back coal
    • Brown: from lignite or brown coal
    • Grey: from methane
    • Red: using nuclear energy to power any of the above or electrolosis
    • Green: from water separating it (electrolosis) using green energy
Video 1

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