logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
1h 8m

Does clean hydrogen have a future? Findi...

Wood Mackenzie
About this episode

Hydrogen has been called the Swiss Army knife of energy, because it has so many potential applications, from home heating to heavy industry. But so far, deployment around the world has been slow. And in recent months there has been a series of setbacks for plans to use clean hydrogen to decarbonise energy systems. So what’s the problem?

Is it unsuitable infrastructure, policy uncertainty, or fundamental challenges of physics and economics? Does hydrogen really have a role to play in the low-carbon energy system of the future? And if it does, what does the industry need to get there?

To find out, host Ed Crooks is joined by Dr Melissa Lott, Partner General Manager in Energy Technologies at Microsoft, and Austin Knight, Vice President for hydrogen at Chevron New Energies. 

Hydrogen is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it could help us tackle some of the toughest challenges in decarbonisation. It may be expensive, but in some sectors it looks like a more cost-effective solution for achieving net zero than any other option.

For some proposed applications, it looks pretty clear that hydrogen is going to be a non-starter. But Austin says there are some sectors where it still has a viable future. Chevron is investing in hydrogen fuel suppliers and fuelling stations for heavy trucks across California, for example. As Melissa says, the infrastructure just isn’t there yet to make hydrogen a viable option today. But is it a case of “if” hydrogen becomes a commercial reality, or “when”? Find out here.

We want to hear your thoughts and comments, so get in touch.

We’re on X, at @theenergygang

Or on BlueSky @woodmackenzie.bsky.social

Subscribe to the show so you don’t miss episodes, out every second Tuesday at 7am ET.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Yesterday
Inside the ‘crazy grid’: why the future of energy needs everything, everywhere, all at once
Building out the electricity grid was traditionally a predictable and straightforward business. Now it’s like trying to land a jet on a moving aircraft carrier in the dark. That’s a quote from this week’s guest Quinn Nakayama. He’s the senior director of Grid Research and Innovat ... Show More
1h 12m
Jul 3
The Big Beautiful Bill is close to passing. What would it mean for clean energy in the US?
This week the US budget reconciliation legislation, dubbed the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, squeaked through the Senate on a 51/50 vote. The bill has wide-ranging implications for energy in the US, including an imminent end to tax credits for wind and solar power. To discuss what th ... Show More
1h 9m
Jun 24
EBOS: the unsung hero that’s accelerating clean energy deployment | How Shoals is improving utility-scale solar performance
Sponsored content from Shoals Technologies Group.EBOS – electrical balance of systems – includes everything that carries electricity from solar panels to the grid: wiring, switches, connector boxes and other components. It might not grab headlines, but it’s the backbone of every ... Show More
27m 16s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
Turning Solar Energy Into Fuel (The Solar Era, Part 3)
Solar power and batteries are becoming cheap and ubiquitous. Great. But there are problems batteries can’t solve – like fueling ships and planes. One way to solve those problems: Use solar power to create hydrogen, and turn that hydrogen into fuel. Today’s guest is Raffi Garabedi ... Show More
50m 38s
Aug 2024
A road trip on the hydrogen highway
Today on the flagship podcast of hydrogen futures: The Verge’s William Poor, Andrew Marino, and Alex Parkin head to California to figure out why hydrogen fuel cell technology, once a super-promising successor to gasoline, lost out to battery electric cars. They also put the embat ... Show More
58m 23s
Aug 2024
The greenest reason to drill: clean power that's always on
Before he founded the geothermal startup Fervo in 2017, Tim Latimer was a drilling engineer for the oil and gas industry — a job he loved. “Honestly, if it wasn't for climate change, I probably wouldn’t have ever changed my career,” he says this week on Zero. Now Latimer is apply ... Show More
38m 53s
Aug 2024
Rethinking Infrastructure for AAM Part One – Inside AAM
Advanced air mobility is a new classification of aircraft that offers new ways to transport cargo and passengers across short distances in forms such as air taxis. However, most air taxis are projected to be bigger than most cars and cannot just land on streets or lawns. AAM will ... Show More
21m 23s
Aug 2024
Eavor Loop – the underground underdog | Jeanine Vany, Eavor
As the accelerating deployment of variable wind and solar resources pushes us ever closer to Net Zero – or the state whereby we’re not emitting any more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere than we are simultaneously removing – we increasingly need to deploy both battery ... Show More
35m 15s
Oct 2024
Trains to Turbines: How India is Harnessing Hydrogen
India is betting big on hydrogen-powered mobility. From the Indian Railways’ plans of hydrogen trains on heritage routes to govts commissioning of dedicated hydrogen ports to initiatives by auto companies such as Tata Motors and M&M, India has a lot going for its green hydrogen m ... Show More
20m 51s
Aug 2023
Demystifying two of the biggest opportunities to have come out of COP27: Green hydrogen and NWFE
Egypt brought home major victories from COP27. We signed framework agreements for about USD 85 bn worth of green hydrogen projects. We also announced more than USD 10 bn in funding for the Nexus for Food, Water and Energy, or NWFE — a USD 15 bn program for Egypt. While we have a ... Show More
48m 52s
Nov 2024
Episode 86
You may have heard that a "nuclear renaissance" is gathering pace, driven most recently by something called “small modular reactors” or SMRs. Apparently, SMRs are going to be ubiquitous everywhere and are going to play a key part in decarbonization. The Angry Clean Energy Guy on ... Show More
29 m
Jan 2025
Hydrogen tax credit rules give startups clarity while boosting nuclear and carbon capture
Hydrogen startups are widely seen as a promising way to eliminate fossil fuels from heavy industry and long-haul transportation. But they have been stuck in limbo for the last couple years, waiting for official guidance from the U.S. Treasury on lucrative tax credits. That was un ... Show More
4m 57s
Jan 2025
The energy analysts' view on what’s ahead in 2025
The trends, challenges and breakthroughs.Clean energy in 2025 will face challenges from rising electricity demand, inflation-driven costs, and political pressures. How can these challenges be solved? And what else lies ahead this year?To find out, host Sylvia Leyva Martinez, prin ... Show More
51m 35s