However, turning this promise into a scalable, global reality will require a carefully coordinated roadmap involving innovation, investment and international collaboration.
This feature explores the current status, future potential and critical milestones on the global roadmap to realising hydrogen’s full potential as a clean energy cornerstone.
The hydrogen spectrum
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but on Earth, it rarely exists in its pure form.
Instead, it must be extracted from compounds such as water (H₂O) or hydrocarbons. This extraction process determines the "colour" of the hydrogen:
- Grey hydrogen: Produced from natural gas using steam methane reforming (SMR), emitting CO₂;
- Blue hydrogen: Similar to grey, but incorporates carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce emissions;
- Green hydrogen:...
