De-Hyping Hydrogen

For decades, hydrogen has held promise as a revolutionary tool in the clean energy transition. It can be a fuel and energy carrier, and when made with renewable energy and burned in a fuel cell, its only byproduct is water. President Biden’s administration invested billions into proposed clean hydrogen hubs. But as we’ve seen dramatic technological innovations and drastic price drops for solar and wind, lithium-ion batteries, and heat pumps — hydrogen may have gone from tomorrow’s technology to yesterday’s solution.

Experts say the best uses of green hydrogen come down to decarbonizing certain industries, like steel manufacturing and fertilizer. So where does hydrogen fit in the modern energy mix?

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

Episode Guests:

Eleanor Smith, Community Organizer, Tó Nizhóní Ání

Joe Romm, Senior Research Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media; Author, “The Hype About Hydrogen”

Hilary Lewis, Steel Director, Industrious Labs

Highlights:

00:00 - Intro

04:04 - Eleanor Smith on learning about the Tallgrass Energy project

12:21 - Eleanor Smith on how the new projects fits in historically

16:45 - Eleanor Smith on opposition to the project

22:06 - Joe Romm on the uses of hydrogen

28:50 - Joe Romm on why there is still investments made in hydrogen technology

35:15 - Joe Romm on using renewables directly vs for hydrogen production

41:00 - Joe Romm on what people need to understand about hydrogen

46:32 - Hilary Lewis on how steel is made

47:42 - Hilary Lewis on the health impacts of the steel industry

51:59 - Hilary Lewis on current green steel projects in the US

56:40 - Hilary Lewis on projects that received federal funding

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