Hybrit, a Swedish consortium, sold the world’s first green steel made this way in August.Īnother niche is commercial transport, particularly for journeys beyond the scope of batteries. Steel firms, spewing roughly 8% of global emissions, rely on coking coal and blast furnaces that wind power cannot replace but which hydrogen can, using a process known as direct reduction.

Instead, hydrogen can help in niche markets, involving complex chemical processes and high temperatures that are hard to achieve with electricity. Some big energy firms and petrostates want to use natural gas to make hydrogen without capturing the associated carbon effectively, but that does not eliminate emissions. Some European countries hope to pipe hydrogen into homes, but heat pumps are more effective and some pipes cannot handle the gas safely.

Japanese and South Korean firms are keen to sell cars using hydrogen fuel cells, but battery cars are roughly twice as energy efficient. Amid the excitement, it is worth being clear about what hydrogen can and cannot do.

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