Climate benefit of a future hydrogen economy

This paper investigates the climate impact of a future hydrogen economy using a state-of-the-art global numerical model. It calculates hydrogen climate metrics (100-year Global Warming Potential of 12.8 ± 5.2 and a 20-year Global Warming Potential of 40.1 ± 24.1), showing that a green hydrogen economy offers climate benefits by mitigating CO2 emissions across various time horizons and leakage rates. Conversely, blue hydrogen production's CO2 and methane emissions reduce these benefits, potentially leading to a climate penalty at high leakage rates or blue hydrogen shares. Leakage rates and hydrogen production pathways are crucial for achieving a clear climate benefit from a large-scale hydrogen transition.

Didier Hauglustaine, Fabien Paulot, William Collins, Richard Derwent, Maria Sand, Olivier Boucher