Scaling Green Hydrogen Technology in the Future – MIT Technology Review

Unlike conventional energy sources, green hydrogen allows energy to be stored and transmitted without emitting harmful pollutants, making it essential for a sustainable net-zero future. By converting renewable electricity into green hydrogen, these low-emission energy storage systems can release clean, efficient energy on demand via combustion engines or fuel cells. Produced emission-free, hydrogen has the potential to decarbonize some of the most challenging industrial sectors, such as steel and cement production, industrial processes and maritime transport.

“Green hydrogen is a key factor in advancing decarbonization,” says Dr. Christoph Noeres, head of green hydrogen at global electrolysis specialist thyssenkrupp nucera. This promising low carbon intensity technology has the potential to transform entire industries by providing a clean, renewable fuel source, moving us towards a greener world in line with the industry’s climate goals.

Accelerating the production of green hydrogen

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and its availability is crucial to its attractiveness as a clean energy source. However, hydrogen does not occur naturally in its pure form; it is always bonded to other elements in compounds, such as water (H₂ABOUT). Pure hydrogen is extracted and isolated from water in an energy-intensive process called conventional electrolysis.

Hydrogen is currently typically produced by the steam-methane reforming process, which uses high-temperature steam to produce hydrogen from natural gas. Emissions from this process contribute to hydrogen’s overall carbon footprint: global hydrogen production is currently responsible for the same amount of CO₂ emissions as the UK and Indonesia combined.

The solution is ecological hydrogen – hydrogen produced in the electrolysis process powered by renewable sources. This unlocks the benefits of hydrogen without dirty fuels. Unfortunately, very little hydrogen is currently produced from renewable sources: in 2022, less than 1% came from non-fossil fuel sources.

Massive expansion is underway. According to McKinsey, approximately 130-345 gigawatts (GW) of electrolyzer capacity will be needed to meet the demand for green hydrogen by 2030, with 246 GW of this capacity already announced. This is in stark contrast to the current installed base of just 1.1 GW. In particular, to ensure that green hydrogen accounts for at least 14% of total energy consumption by 2050, which the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates is required to meet climate goals, 5,500 GW of total installed electrolyzer capacity will be required.

However, increasing green hydrogen production to this level requires overcoming cost and infrastructure constraints. Achieving cost competitiveness means improving and standardizing technology, leveraging the efficiencies of scale in larger projects, and encouraging governments to act to create market incentives. Moreover, the development of renewable energy in regions with significant solar, water and wind energy potential is another important factor reducing the prices of renewable energy and, consequently, the costs of green hydrogen.

Innovation in electrolysis

While electrolysis technologies have existed for decades, it will be essential to scale them to meet clean energy demands. Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), the most dominant and developed electrolysis method, is ready for this transition. It has been used for decades, demonstrating effectiveness and reliability in the chemical industry. Moreover, it is more cost-effective than other electrolysis technologies and is ideal for direct powering with variable renewable energy input. Especially for large-scale applications, AWE shows a significant advantage in terms of investment and operating costs. “Moving production to small scale and optimizing it towards mass production will require significant investment across the industry,” says Noeres.

Industries that already use electrolysis, as well as those that already use hydrogen, such as fertilizer production, are well prepared to transition to green hydrogen. For example, thyssenkrupp nucera benefits from a long heritage in electrolyzer technology in the chlor-alkali process, which produces chlorine and caustic soda for the chemical industry. The company “can leverage its existing supply chain to rapidly ramp up production, which is not common to all suppliers,” Noeres says.

In addition to scaling up existing solutions, thyssenkrupp nucera is developing complementary techniques and technologies. These include solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC), which perform electrolysis at very high temperatures. While the need for high temperatures means the technique is not suitable for all customers, in industries where waste heat is readily available – such as the chemical industry – Noeres claims that SOEC offers up to 20% greater efficiency and reduces costs of production.

Thyssenkrupp nucera has entered into a strategic partnership with the renowned German research institute Fraunhofer IKTS to transfer this technology to applications in industrial production. The company envisions SOEC to complement AWE in areas where it is cost-effective to reduce overall energy consumption. “The combination of AWE and SOEC in the thyssenkrupp nucera portfolio offers the industry a unique product package,” says Noeres.

While advances in electrolysis technology and the diversification of its applications across scales and industries hold promise for green hydrogen production, coordinated global development of renewable energy sources and clean energy networks is also crucial. While AWE electrolyzers are ready for deployment in large, centralized green hydrogen production plants, they need to be integrated with renewable energy sources to fully realize their potential.

Creating a green hydrogen market

Storage and transportation remain obstacles to a larger green hydrogen market. Although hydrogen can be compressed and stored, its low density poses a practical challenge. Hydrogen is almost four times larger in volume than natural gas, and storing it requires either very high compression or expensive refrigeration. Overcoming the economic and technical hurdles associated with storing and transporting hydrogen in large quantities will be crucial to its potential as an exportable energy carrier.

In 2024, several high-profile green hydrogen projects were launched in the US, accelerating the development of green hydrogen infrastructure and technology. The landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides tax breaks and government incentives for the production of clean hydrogen and the renewable energy used to produce it. In October 2023, the Biden administration announced $7 billion for the nation’s first clean hydrogen nodes, and the U.S. Department of Energy committed another $750 million to 52 projects in 24 states to dramatically reduce the cost of clean hydrogen and ensure U.S. leading position in the industry. The potential economic impact of the IRA legislation is significant: thyssenkrupp nucera expects the IRA to double or triple the size of the green hydrogen market in the US.

“The IRA was a wake-up call for Europe, setting a benchmark for all other countries to support the green hydrogen industry in its start-up phase,” says Noeres. Germany’s H2Global program was one of the first European efforts to facilitate hydrogen imports through subsidies and has since been followed up by the European Hydrogen Bank, which has committed €720 million to green hydrogen projects in its pilot auction. “However, further investment is needed to move the green hydrogen industry forward,” says Noeres.

In the current green hydrogen market, China has installed more renewable energy than any other country. With lower investment costs, China produces 40% of the world’s electrolyzers. In addition, state-owned enterprises have committed to building an extensive 6,000 km long pipeline network by 2050 to transport green hydrogen.

Coordinated investment and support policies are key to providing attractive incentives that can transform green hydrogen from a niche technology to a scalable global solution. China’s green hydrogen market, like that of other regions such as the Middle East and North Africa, has expanded significantly, attracting global attention due to its competitive advantage with large-scale projects. To compete effectively, the EU must create a level playing field for European technologies around the world with attractive investment incentives that can shift hydrogen from a niche solution to a global solution. Supportive policies need to be implemented to provide sufficient incentives for the use of green products produced using hydrogen, such as steel, and protect them against carbon leakage.

A comprehensive strategy, combining investment incentives, open markets and protection against market distortions and carbon leakage, is crucial for the EU and other countries to remain competitive in the rapidly growing global green hydrogen market and achieve a low-carbon energy future. “To move forward projects of several gigawatts or several hundred megawatts,” says Noeres, “we need much greater volume around the world and comparable financing opportunities to make a real impact on global supply chains.”

This content was produced by Insights, a custom content division of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by the MIT Technology Review editorial staff.