Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth.

Hydrogen can be produced from numerous sources such as gas or liquid and has multiple uses, including transportation, heating, energy storage, electricity generation, and raw material in industrial processes. Nowadays, Hydrogen has been recognised as the green fuel of the future to replace fossil fuels in different applications.

Hydrogen can be stored as gas or liquid in both large and small quantities in different ways. It can be transported through gas pipelines, trucks or ships. This allows Hydrogen to be used for domestic applications or exported overseas, effectively making it a tradable energy commodity.

Due to its multiple advantages, Hydrogen can be used to decarbonise many economic sectors. The Australian government has established the National Hydrogen Strategy to incorporate Hydrogen in many industries to reduce emissions and help achieve its Paris Agreements targets.

Not all Hydrogen is equally created

There are different types of Hydrogen depending on their production source, colour coordinated to correspond to the greenhouse gas emission profile. There are three types of Hydrogen production which are the most common within the industry. Grey hydrogen has the highest emissions with a gloomier outlook for global warming, compared to blue and green Hydrogen, which have lower emissions.

Grey hydrogen

Grey hydrogen is also generated from natural gas using the SMR method, but in contrast to blue Hydrogen, there is no technology to capture the carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, they are released into the atmosphere.

Blue Hydrogen

Blue Hydrogen is produced from natural gas mainly using the Steam Methane Reforming method (SMR). SMR combines natural gas with very high-temperature steam in the presence of a catalyst, resulting in a chemical reaction that produces Hydrogen and carbon monoxide. To generate more Hydrogen, additional water is added to the mixture converting the carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. However, unlike grey hydrogen, carbon dioxide emissions generated from the process are captured and stored underground using Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology leaving clean Hydrogen.

Green Hydrogen

Green Hydrogen is produced from water which does not produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As the name implies, its production is both sustainable and environmentally friendly. Green Hydrogen is generated using a device called an electrolyser. Electrolysers utilise electric current to split water into Hydrogen and oxygen. The key to producing green Hydrogen is that the electricity used to power the electrolyser comes from a renewable source, such as wind and solar. In this way, it can be ensured that the Hydrogen produced is entirely free of GHG emissions.