Calling Hydrogen a Zero-Emissions Fuel is Wrong, New Study Says — Energy Industry Cries Foul

Bracewell Policy Resolution Group Senior Principal Frank Maisano discussed with MarketWatch concerns over a recent study, published in the Energy Science & Engineering journal by researchers from Cornell and Stanford Universities, which misapplied short-term findings to a long-term view on hydrogen.

“Both are well known for research on climate-related topics, but it seems any short-term life-cycle analysis is certain to overstate the long-term impacts and understate the potential advantages of hydrogen,” Maisano said. “I find it ironic that in previous analyses, they both look across the entire climate scenario and project way out into the future, but when looking at hydrogen, they seem to short-shrift its long-term potential and real technological advances that will likely occur.”

Maisano said the report misleadingly compared hydrogen as a heating source versus traditional options.

“This essentially says that if you want to heat water, blue hydrogen is not as environmentally friendly as other fuels. We are not using it for its thermal energy, we are putting it into fuel cells and using it for its electrochemical properties,” he said.

Click here to read more from MarketWatch.