The prospects for a hydrogen economy (1): hydrogen futures

Common to all discussions and projections of ‘a hydrogen economy’ is the widespread use of hydrogen as an energy carrier. Such use requires the development and application of a range of different technologies, some similar to and some quite different from those in common use in current energy systems. This paper starts by briefly introducing and describing the physical characteristics, economics and functionality of these technologies, before discussing some of the hydrogen futures that have been proposed, and the great improvements to the technologies which will be required before they become competitive with alternative means of delivering the same energy service. Technology cost estimates are then used to explore through the use of formal modelling techniques some of the futures scenarios.