What is blue hydrogen?
Hydrogen can be a clean fuel thatproduces virtually no pollution. That’s true when electricity from renewable energy sources is used to extract hydrogen from water molecules, with hydrogen and oxygen being the only outputs of this process. The hydrogen can then be used as a light and highly reactive fuel, typically in hydrogen
fuel cells (HFCs). HFCs operate like batteries and can be used in cars, laptops, backup power systems, or even power plants. The only byproducts of HCFsare oxygen and
water, and minimal harmful emissions are generated in the process of producing, transporting, and dispensing hydrogen fuel.
When hydrogen generation makes use of renewable energy, it's called green hydrogen. Experts say that green hydrogen technology is still some years away from being economically viable. Eventually, though, green hydrogen may serve as an environmentally sound fuel source for many years to come.
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Blue hydrogen, by contrast,is produced through a complex and energy-intensive process that mixes methane gas with water and heat to create hydrogen and carbon dioxide. While the hydrogen is used as fuel, the carbon dioxide emissions are captured and storedin underground wells. This underground storage process is called “carbon capture and storage” or “carbon capture and sequestration” (CCS).
A lot of energy must beexpended to extract the methane feedstock and then to isolate, process, and stockpile usable hydrogen. A lot more energy is spent to capture the CO2 byproduct,pump it overland, and store it underground. So much energy must be used in the process that some researchers say that the carbon footprint to create and burn blue hydrogen is significantly greater than using either oil or gas directly to heat your home or business.