Hydrogen as fuel. Differences between blue and green hydrogen

Hydrogen is a promising fuel source for the energy transition, but not all hydrogen is created equal. Green and blue hydrogen are the two main types of hydrogen fuel, but they also carry significantly different environmental impacts.

With this wide discontinuity in impact, it should come as no surprise that the oil and gas industry supports one type and climate advocates the other.

The future of hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen has many potential applications in transportation and power generation—including cars, homes, portable power, and more.

However, hydrogen is only really popular for industrial purposes such as oil refining, metal processing, fertilizer production and food processing. Following the introduction of the Green Deal and the drive for decarbonisation, we all expect this to change in the coming decades.

The environmental benefits of hydrogen

The increased use of hydrogen fuel is due to a variety of reasons, but some of the main ones are related to environmental benefits:

• Energy generated using hydrogen produces almost zero greenhouse gas emissions;
• Hydrogen is a renewable and highly efficient resource;
• More efficient energy production from fossil fuels;
• Local hydrogen production

Fossil fuels are still the most widely used energy source, making comparing them as an energy resource with hydrogen extremely easy. Comparing similar volumes, hydrogen contains approximately three times the calorific value of energy than oil and natural gas. This allows hydrogen fuel cells to be 2-3 times more efficient than internal combustion engines. Furthermore, with continuous improvements in hydrogen fuel cells, they can be quickly recharged (on average in less than 4 minutes for cars) and function independently of national grids (i.e. can be considered as a portable energy source ).

What is green hydrogen?

Green hydrogen production splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis powered by renewable energy. Scientists estimate that this technology could meet 24% of the world’s energy needs and significantly contribute to net zero emissions by 2050.

The production costs of obtaining green hydrogen remain the main obstacle to reaching this level of adoption. The cost of producing 1 kilogram of green hydrogen ranges from 3 to 7 USD, compared to about 1 USD using fossil fuels. Yet recent cost trends predict that production costs per kilogram of hydrogen will range between 1 and 2 USD by 2050 Electrolysis costs (which have fallen by 50% in the last five years), projected advances in fuel cell technology and governments developing hydrogen strategies are driving this trend.

What is blue hydrogen?

Blue hydrogen is generated by reducing natural gas with steam. During this process, natural gas is split into hydrogen and CO2. In this steam reforming process, however, carbon dioxide is not released into the atmosphere; instead it is stored or processed industrially. Carbon capture and storage (CSS) technology can be used to store CO2 underground. However, the long-term impacts of storage are uncertain, and leakage could still negatively impact the environment and climate.

Production of 1 kilogram of blue hydrogen fuel varies between USD 1.50 and USD 3.50, including USD 0.50 to USD 1 per kilogram for carbon capture and storage (CCS) processes. However, CCUS is not completely efficient and the amount of CO2 captured usually varies between 65% to 90%.

The future of hydrogen

Blue hydrogen currently makes a greater contribution to a rapid and affordable energy transition than green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is only truly sustainable if the electricity for the electrolysis process comes from renewable sources. Currently, there is still too little green electricity available. Also, electricity is twice as expensive as natural gas. The high cost of water-splitting electrolyzers also makes this technology less attractive to the industry at present.

However, it is expected that by 2050 the supply of green electricity will increase and electrolyzers will become cheaper through innovation and mass production. Until then, however, blue hydrogen is paving the way for a mature, affordable hydrogen market and infrastructure.

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