Buildings sector ‘not suited’ to hydrogen
Study argues green hydrogen would be better used for applications that have no alternative decarbonisation pathways, such as heavy industry
Green hydrogen does not offer economically viable and scalable solutions to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals for the buildings sector and has limited potential for the power sector, according to a new US study. The US Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year allocated $8bn to support regional hydrogen demonstration hubs, including at least two to explore the fuel’s use for heating and power generation. But the idea that natural gas infrastructure can be repurposed to carry hydrogen is a false premise, with heating better suited to electrification, according to the peer-reviewed study by energy thinktank Energy Innovation, titled Assessing the Viability of Hydrogen Proposals.

Also in this section
13 March 2025
Government awards €1.21b of funding to seven large-scale projects as it chases capacity target of 12GW by 2030
12 March 2025
Speakers at this year’s CERAWeek conference noted the growing interest in green hydrogen, but hurdles such as cost remain to its adoption at scale
11 March 2025
A reassessment of clean hydrogen’s growth trajectory is underway, but the energy vector’s long-term potential to decarbonise remains intact
10 March 2025
Collaboration has become crucial to success as projects turn out to be more complex and expensive than previously thought, industry figures tell Dubai conference