Green hydrogen
Where you can neither electrify nor store in a battery — steel, fertilizers, heavy transport — hydrogen produced by electrolysis from renewables becomes the carrier. The challenge is not making the molecule, but doing so at a viable cost, safely, while following variable power production.
The main families
Alkaline, PEM, SOEC
Alkaline is mature and cheap, PEM reacts fast and follows variable renewables, high-temperature electrolysis (SOEC) targets the best efficiency using heat. Electrical efficiency sits around 60-70%.
Compression, liquefaction, ammonia
Compressed at 350-700 bar, liquefied at -253 °C, or converted to ammonia as a transportable carrier. The small molecule leaks easily and embrittles some steels: material choice is critical.
Steel, fertilizer, mobility, e-fuels
Direct reduction of iron ore (coal-free steel), ammonia and fertilizer production, heavy mobility, refining, synthetic fuels. This is where hydrogen decarbonizes what electricity alone cannot.
Key challenges
- Hydrogen safety — very wide flammability range, low ignition energy, a molecule that leaks and embrittles steels: ATEX zoning, leak detection and ventilation are central to design.
- Efficiency & cost — each conversion loses energy; the power-to-X chain may return only a fraction of the starting electricity. Cost depends first on the price of renewable power.
- Coupling to renewables — a flexible electrolyzer follows variable solar and wind output; intermittent operation wears stacks and complicates operation.
- Regulation & certification — EU rules on renewable hydrogen (RFNBO) require additionality, temporal and geographic correlation with green production — a demanding framework to trace.
- Infrastructure — industrial hubs, hydrogen backbones and repurposing of existing gas networks: the molecule only has value if it reaches the use at a reasonable cost.
See also
Hydrogen-specific standards
- ISO 22734 — Hydrogen generators using water electrolysis: safety and performance requirements.
- ISO 19880 — Gaseous hydrogen fuelling stations: design, safety and fuel quality.
- ISO/TR 15916 · ISO 11114 — Basic safety considerations and material compatibility with hydrogen (embrittlement).
- IEC 62282 — Fuel cell technologies: stationary modules and systems.
Related standard pages on IndustryHub
Major players
Electrolyzers
Nel, thyssenkrupp nucera, Siemens Energy, John Cockerill, Plug Power, Sunfire (SOEC).
Industrial gases
Air Liquide, Linde, Air Products.
Industrial users
SSAB / HYBRIT, ArcelorMittal, Thyssenkrupp Steel, Yara (ammoniac).
Mega-projects
NEOM (Arabie saoudite), HyDeal, H2 Green Steel, Aramco.
Landmark facts
| Fact | Year | Location | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| HYBRIT — fossil-free steel | 2021 | Sweden | SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall deliver the first steel made by hydrogen direct reduction rather than coal — proof that one of the highest-emitting sectors can decarbonize. |
| RePowerEU hydrogen strategy | 2022 | European Union | The EU targets ten million tonnes of renewable hydrogen produced and as much imported by 2030, with "additionality" rules tying electrolysis to new renewable capacity. |
| NEOM — utility-scale green ammonia | 2023 | Saudi Arabia | A project of over two gigawatts of electrolysis coupled to solar and wind, aimed at exporting green ammonia, illustrates the industrial scale targeted — and the financing and supply-chain challenges. |