The August 12, 2021 New York Times article by Hiroko Tabuchi leads off with a misleading and narrowly focused headline, “For Many, Hydrogen Is the Fuel of the Future. New Research Raises Doubts.” The article reports on a paper by two university professors whose principal argument is critical of “blue hydrogen,” which is produced from reforming methane (i.e., natural gas) with the expectation that the CO2 generated by this process would be captured and sequestered underground in sealed caverns.
Hydrogen is indeed the fuel of the future, and there is a simple response to quell the doubts: Blue hydrogen is not the end state of hydrogen production that the industry is striving for. Green hydrogen—that is, hydrogen produced from renewable energy (solar and wind) or feedstocks like biogas or waste wood—is where the industry is aiming, although it is an admittedly somewhat nascent industry. But who among us is not striving for self-improvement? The hydrogen industry is no exception.