Hydrogen fuel a ‘dead end’ for net zero

The fuel is expensive, inefficient and associated with worse environmental impacts than other options when it comes to heating and transport, argues Hydrogen Science Coalition

Hydrogen as a fuel for heating and transport is too inefficient and expensive a route for the world to take if it is to reach net zero by 2050, according to David Cebon, a professor at the University of Cambridge and a member of thinktank the Hydrogen Science Coalition. “The most effective use cases for green hydrogen to reduce emissions are exactly what it is used for now,” Cebon argues, highlighting fertilisers, petrochemicals and glass as carbon-intensive sectors where hydrogen is used in vast quantities. Steelmaking, responsible for 7–8pc of global emissions, is a sector where hydrogen could replace coking coal to directly reduce iron. “In all these industrial processes, hydrogen will be