Hydrogen and Replacing Fossil Fuels – GWC Mag

Meeting 2050 emissions goals requires the rapid phase-down of fossil fuels. Much of this can be accomplished through direct electrification. Fossil-fuel burning passenger vehicles and furnaces, for example, can be replaced by electric vehicles and heat pumps. As we electrify end uses, we must replace coal, oil, and natural gas power plants with low-carbon wind farms and solar arrays. We will also need to upgrade our electric infrastructure—transmission lines, battery storage facilities, and vehicle charging stations—to accommodate increased electric demand and variable renewable generation.

Direct electrification can displace more than 70% of current fossil fuel use. But full decarbonization will require additional tools. “Hard-to-abate” sectors include long-haul aviation and shipping, which need portable, energy-dense fuels, and seasonal energy storage, for which batteries are likely to remain prohibitively expensive. They also include industries that currently use fossil fuel feedstocks. In these sectors, hydrogen (and its derivatives like ammonia) will likely play an important role.

Hydrogen is already widely used in fertilizer production, oil refining, and the smelting of iron and aluminum ore. Globally, about 120 million tons of hydrogen are produced each year. Almost all this hydrogen is manufactured using fossil fuels for both feedstocks and heat. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2021, hydrogen production accounted for 830 million tons of CO2, or about 2.2% of global emissions.

Decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors with hydrogen will involve the same broad steps as direct electrification. We’ll need to substitute hydrogen for fossils fuel end-uses, for example, jet engines that can burn hydrogen-derived fuels. We’ll need to build out the necessary storage and distribution infrastructure. And, of course, we’ll also need to scale up production while shifting to low- or zero-carbon production methods in order to supply both existing and new uses.

Two general pathways have emerged for…