On November 15, 2022 the world population rose to 8 billion. It will continue to rise for the next 80 years. As more people populate the Earth, carbon emissions are expected to rise. So the question becomes how do we support a growing population while being cognizant of our carbon footprint? The answer lies in green energy, energy that is derived from methods that limit their carbon dioxide production.

One of the most promising forms of green energy is green hydrogen. Green hydrogen uses the energy that is produced when a water molecule is split into hydrogen and oxygen. This process is called electrolysis and since it is a breakdown of a molecule, electrolysis results in a release in energy. However a substantial amount of energy is needed with electrolysis given hydrogen’s desire to stick to other elements. When this energy to power electrolysis is produced by water, wind, or other renewable energy sources, it is known as green hydrogen because it results in no carbon emissions.

Green is just one of the many colors on the hydrogen energy palette. Pink hydrogen uses nuclear energy to power electrolysis. Blue hydrogen combines natural gas with hot steam to produce energy, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane. Yellow hydrogen utilizes energy grids to electrolyze water. Turquoise hydrogen splits methane into hydrogen and carbon under high heat. All of these options have their drawbacks like methane and carbon emissions and slow commercialization. In this regard, green hydrogen proves to be the most applicable to a variety of industries and shows the most commercial promise.

Despite its promise, we need to be careful what we use green hydrogen for. Ultimately green hydrogen calls for producing hydrogen through electrolysis, compressing it, and then turning the compressed hydrogen back into energy. Through this process, almost 63% of the energy is lost. This means using green hydrogen as fuel for large vehicles would be impractical. However for industrial processes and batteries, green hydrogen could be a possible energy source since they exhaust less energy than large vehicles like planes.

Although green hydrogen is not a panacea for the world’s energy and carbon emission woes, it has the promise to reshape the way we power our world. While critics will attack its cost and its efficiency, green hydrogen initiatives are actually addressing our emission issue and the fuel source will continue to advance as technology improves.