What is hydrogen?
The role of hydrogen in the energy transition
Hydrogen is a gas made up of two hydrogen atoms (H2) combined. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of resources, such as natural gas, renewable power like solar and wind, and even nuclear power. The challenge is harnessing hydrogen as a gas on a large scale to fuel our industry, store and transport green electricity, and potentially in the future even heat our homes.
Why is hydrogen important as a future energy source?
For many years, we’ve used natural gas to heat our homes and businesses, and to generate power whenever we needed it. When natural gas is burnt, it provides heat energy. But a waste product alongside water is carbon dioxide (CO2), which when released into the atmosphere contributes to climate change.
Hydrogen can play a key role in the decarbonization of the global energy system and in realizing global climate targets, as using hydrogen only produces water vapour as waste product. It can be used as green energy carrier and used as feedstock.
Thus, hydrogen, if produced from renewable sources, will enable us to reach our net-zero ambitions.
Susbscribe to receive our latest insights
What are grey, blue, and green hydrogen?
Hydrogen is given various coloring labels based on its production source.
Grey hydrogen
Current hydrogen production is almost exclusively grey hydrogen from natural gas. This type of grey hydrogen has high CO2 emissions.
Blue hydrogen
Blue hydrogen has the same production method as grey hydrogen. However, thanks to modern carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, its footprint is relatively small compared to grey hydrogen processes. Through CCS, CO2 generated through steam reforming of natural gas or coal gasification, is captured and stored under the seabed or repurposed in different ways.
Green hydrogen
Green hydrogen is the only 100% renewable hydrogen production methods. It does not rely on natural gas, but instead uses (green) electricity in electrolysis technologies such as mature alkaline or the newly developed PEM technology.
Our hydrogen point of view visualizes the different production methods for grey, blue, and green hydrogen.
Read more on the developments of different production sources and methods of hydrogen in this article. The hydrogen rainbow is slowly turning from grey to blue and green, uncertain what colors it will reflect in the future. Hydrogen is here to stay.
Where does hydrogen have its largest potential?
Hydrogen will have the most impact in sectors that are hard to electrify and where the technology and infrastructure constraints can be overcome. In mobility, long-haul trucking will have the most potential because its energy to weight ratio is superior to that of batteries. Synthetic hydrocarbon fuels, produced with hydrogen, will enable the decarbonization of aviation and marine transport, but only beyond 2040. In the same period, we will also see hydrogen in power generation taking a small role, to enable the further integration of intermittent power generation.
However, the largest volumes and gains for the climate on the short term can be achieved in industry, to decarbonize chemical and high temperature processes such as steel making. Many industrial processes already use hydrogen and application of blue hydrogen, could be an intermediate step to the use of green hydrogen. It is therefore a good idea to connect the industrial clusters in the Netherlands to further stimulate the use of green hydrogen in industry.
Discover the potential of hydrogen
Can hydrogen empower the energy transition?
Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in the energy transition. It has a wide applicability as an energy carrier and for some hard-to-abate sectors it is currently one of only a few alternative(s) to decarbonize processes.
At the same time, this fast-growing market is likely to face growing pains as a large supply gap is expected to emerge, with potentially large effects. Deloitte research, focusing on German, Dutch and Belgian markets, identified a significant disbalance between the supply and demand volumes; the supply gap.
Development of hydrogen in the Netherlands
Hydrogen has taken center stage in the world-wide debate about the energy transition. The Dutch government sees hydrogen as an essential component to achieve a CO2-neutral energy supply by 2050. Read different views on the development of hydrogen in the Netherlands:
- Gasunie-In this interview we get the perspective from Gasunie on the development of the hydrogen market. Explore with us the various aspects of developing the hydrogen market, the need for a much more integrated energy system and the required partnerships to make that happen.
- Interview with Prof. Ad van Wijk, professor Future Energy systems at Delft University of Technology and well-known hydrogen-expert, and Prof. Gert Jan Kramer, professor of Sustainable Energy Supply Systems at Utrecht University. Both share their thoughts on the Future of Energy in the Netherlands. As well as their view on the short and long-term developments of the hydrogen market in the Netherlands.
Subscribe to our Future of Energy Insights to receive all our latest reports and insights on hydrogen.
