Inefficiency of hydrogen production

Hydrogen has been promoted as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels as it does not emit greenhouse gases when burned. Large-scale production of hydrogen requires large amounts of electricity due to the inefficiency of the conversion process. This means that if hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, the climate change mitigation potential of hydrogen production is limited or non-existent. This can also be referred to as ‘grey’ hydrogen production. It is therefore important to assess the full life cycle of hydrogen production to determine whether its use actually results in emissions savings.

Nº 5
some attempts made
past case
Region-1
Region-2
Region-3
Region-4
ongoing case
no attempts made

None

Inefficiency of hydrogen production

Hydrogen has been promoted as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels as it does not emit greenhouse gases when burned. Large-scale production of hydrogen requires large amounts of electricity due to the inefficiency of the conversion process. This means that if hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, the climate change mitigation potential of hydrogen production is limited or non-existent. This can also be referred to as ‘grey’ hydrogen production. It is therefore important to assess the full life cycle of hydrogen production to determine whether its use actually results in emissions savings.

In South Korea, the government is actively promoting the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles as a means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, these vehicles currently rely on grey hydrogen, which emits GHGs during the charging process. As a result, the entire hydrogen cycle is considered unsustainable in this context. Although efforts are being made to produce green hydrogen, the timeframe for the implementation of this technology in the country remains uncertain.

Park, C., Koo, M., Woo, J., Hong, B. I., & Shin, J. (2022). Economic valuation of green hydrogen charging compared to gray hydrogen charging: The case of South Korea. Science Direct, 14393-14403. 

Hermesmann, M., & Müller, T. E. (2022). Green, turquoise, blue, or grey? Environmentally friendly hydrogen production in transforming energy systems. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 90, 100996.