Types of Hydrogen Archives - Hydrogengentech

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Hydrogen is rapidly emerging as a key player in the clean energy transition, powering industries, transportation, and even homes. But not all hydrogen is created equal. The two most talked-about types—green hydrogen and blue hydrogen—offer distinct advantages and challenges.

If your business is considering hydrogen as a fuel or industrial input, understanding the differences between green hydrogen and blue hydrogen is crucial. Which one aligns better with your sustainability goals, cost constraints, and operational needs? Let’s explore!

Understanding Hydrogen Colors: What Do They Mean?

Before diving into the debate, here’s a quick breakdown of hydrogen types:

Green Hydrogen 🌱 → Produced through electrolysis using renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro) with zero carbon emissions.
Blue Hydrogen 🔵 → Produced from natural gas using steam methane reforming (SMR) or autothermal reforming (ATR), with carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce emissions.
Gray Hydrogen ⚫ → Produced from fossil fuels without carbon capture, leading to high CO₂ emissions.
Brown/Black Hydrogen 🏭 → Derived from coal, generating the highest emissions.

Among these, green and blue hydrogen are the two most viable options for industries looking to balance cost, sustainability, and energy security.

Green Hydrogen: The Carbon-Free Solution

✅ How It’s Produced

Green hydrogen is made using electrolysis, where water (H₂O) is split into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂) using electricity from renewable sources. Since no fossil fuels are involved, the process produces zero greenhouse gas emissions.

🌍 Advantages of Green Hydrogen

100% Clean Energy – No CO₂ emissions, making it ideal for carbon-neutral and net-zero goals.
Supports Renewable Energy Growth – Can store excess power from solar and wind farms.
Long-Term Sustainability – Future-proof as industries shift toward cleaner energy.

⚡ Challenges of Green Hydrogen

Higher Costs – Electrolysis technology and renewable energy sources are currently more expensive than fossil fuels.
Energy-Intensive Process – Requires significant electricity to produce hydrogen efficiently.
Infrastructure Limitations – Electrolyzer production and hydrogen distribution networks need expansion.

Best for Industries Focused on:

✅ 100% sustainability goals
✅ Renewable energy integration
✅ Long-term hydrogen storage for grid balancing

Industries Using Green Hydrogen:

Renewable energy storage
Transportation (hydrogen fuel cells for EVs, aviation, and shipping)
Green steel and cement manufacturing
Chemical and fertilizer production

Blue Hydrogen: The Low-Carbon Alternative

✅ How It’s Produced

Blue hydrogen is produced through steam methane reforming (SMR) or autothermal reforming (ATR), extracting hydrogen from natural gas. However, the carbon emissions generated during production are captured and stored (CCS), making it a lower-emission option than gray hydrogen.

🌍 Advantages of Blue Hydrogen

Lower Cost than Green Hydrogen – Uses existing natural gas infrastructure, reducing initial investments.
Scalable & Widely Available – Natural gas supply chains are well-established worldwide.
Lower Carbon Footprint – While not emission-free, CCS technology captures up to 90% of CO₂ emissions.

⚡ Challenges of Blue Hydrogen

Not 100% Carbon-Free – Some CO₂ leakage and methane emissions still occur.
Dependence on Fossil Fuels – Relies on natural gas, which fluctuates in price and supply.
Carbon Capture Costs – Storing and managing captured CO₂ requires additional investment.

Best for Industries Focused on:

✅ Lowering emissions while keeping costs manageable
✅ Transitioning to cleaner energy without major infrastructure changes
✅ Scaling up hydrogen use with existing natural gas networks

Industries Using Blue Hydrogen:

Oil refining & petrochemicals
Power generation
Heavy industry (steel, glass, cement)
Hydrogen fueling infrastructure

Green vs. Blue Hydrogen: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Green Hydrogen 🌱	Blue Hydrogen 🔵
Carbon Emissions	Zero emissions ✅	Low emissions (with CCS) 🔵
Production Method	Electrolysis with renewable energy	SMR/ATR with carbon capture
Cost	Higher (due to renewables & electrolyzers)	Lower (uses existing gas infrastructure)
Scalability	Limited but growing 🚀	More scalable with existing supply chains
Infrastructure	Requires new electrolyzers & hydrogen transport	Uses current natural gas infrastructure
Best for	100% clean energy goals, long-term sustainability	Industries needing a balance of cost & lower emissions

Which One is the Best Choice for Your Business?

The answer depends on your industry, sustainability targets, and cost considerations:

✅ Choose Green Hydrogen if:

Your business is committed to 100% clean energy and net-zero targets.
You have access to affordable renewable energy sources.
Long-term sustainability is a priority over short-term costs.

✅ Choose Blue Hydrogen if:

You need a cost-effective transition to lower-carbon hydrogen.
Your industry relies on existing natural gas infrastructure.
You require scalable hydrogen production without drastic changes to operations.

Final Thoughts: The Future of Hydrogen is Green

While blue hydrogen is a crucial stepping stone for industries moving toward decarbonization, green hydrogen is the ultimate goal for a fully sustainable future. As renewable energy costs decrease and electrolysis technology improves, green hydrogen will become more accessible and cost-competitive.

Businesses investing in hydrogen today will gain a competitive edge in the transition to cleaner energy solutions. Whether you choose blue hydrogen as a bridge or go all-in on green hydrogen, the shift toward a hydrogen-powered economy is already happening.

💡 Looking for hydrogen solutions tailored to your business? Contact Hydrogen Gentech Private Limited (HGPL) to explore the best on-site hydrogen generation options for your industry!

Hydrogen Roundtable was organized on 15^th April 2021 in virtual mode by The Energy Forum and FIPI under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The title given to roundtable was “Hydrogen Economy – the Indian Dialogue- 2021”.
Main purpose of the roundtable was to discuss emerging hydrogen ecosystem by tracking down the road map for exploring opportunities for cooperation, collaboration and coalition.
The hydrogen roundtable was the first of its kind that compromised a High-level Ministerial session.
Green hydrogen also holds an important role in the growth of hydrogen economy because green hydrogen is produced through renewable resources like solar or winds, however the presence of these renewable resources very all around the world which can become a challenge for its systematic development.
The objective of this roundtable was to understand the progress of hydrogen ecosystem across continents and contribute to creating synchrony.

Hydrogen and its types:

It is the first and lightest element of periodic table.
Its pure form is H2 but it’s rarely found in this form.
It is a diatomic and highly combustible gas.
It is a clean fuel with zero emission when burned in oxygen.
There are 3 types of hydrogen:
Grey Hydrogen – It is extracted from hydrocarbons such as fossil fuels, natural gas etc. It constitutes India’s bulk production and it’s by product is CO2.
Blue Hydrogen – It is sourced form fossil fuels and its by products are CO and CO2 that are captured and stored making it a better option than Grey Hydrogen.
Green Hydrogen – It is generated from renewable energy like solar and wind energy. Electricity splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Its by products are water and water vapours, making it the best option among grey and blue hydrogen.

Why should we choose hydrogen?

India’s production of electricity is heavily coal dependent and it is not good for our environment.
Green hydrogen has many uses in industry and it can be stored in gas pipelines. It can be used to transport the renewable energy when it is converted into ammonia or a zero-carbon fuel.
Hydrogen will replace fossil fuels so that pollution can be reduces and will address oil-price rise.
Hydrogen is most abundant element in universe and it is lighter, energy dense and two three times more efficient than burning petrol.
Transportation sector alone contributes in 1/3^rd of India’s green-house emission.
Hydrogen will benefit transportation, iron and steel and chemical sectors.

What is Hydrogen Economy?

“Hydrogen Economy”, this term was coined by John Bockris for the first time in 1970.
Hydrogen Economy is an envisioned future where hydrogen is used for energy storage, as a clean fuel for vehicles, and long-distance transport of energy because of excellent qualities of hydrogen.
Consequences of hydrogen economy will be hydrogen production, storage, transport and utilization.
It is estimated that green hydrogen will play a big part in the hydrogen economy in future specially in Europe and Japan in next 10 years.

National Hydrogen Mission

It was announced by the Finance-minister in the budget of 2021-22.
Focus of this mission is to link India’s growing renewable capacity with hydrogen economy and generation of hydrogen using green power resources.
Dharmendra Pradhan who is the petroleum and natural gas minister said that they are mainly focusing on the development of infrastructure for increasing the production of green hydrogen.
Significances
India wants to scale up the gas pipeline infrastructure.
Due to its favourable geographic conditions and abundance of natural elements, India has a huge edge in green hydrogen production.
Producing green hydrogen in India can be cost effective.

Other Country’s Hydrogen Plan

Japan – has announced its Basic Hydrogen Policy in 2017. Under which Japan wants to have an international supply chain of Hydrogen and Japan has signed its first hydrogen cooperation deal with UAE to consider supply chain.
South Korea – is also moving in the same direction as Japan and under its policy it wants transparency in hydrogen pricing and want to create an infrastructure for hydrogen driven vehicles.
China – established Z-park Hydrogen and fuel cell industry alliance and is set to be handed a huge boost to hydrogen technology advancement and networking.
Spain – Cummins, the global energy leader has planned to invest in spain specifically in Castilla-La Mancha and wants to build one of the largest green hydrogen production plant there.

Challenges in the way of hydrogen economy

Cost of maintenance for post-completion of fuel cell of a plant can be high.
Economic sustainability of extracting green and blue hydrogen.
Huge investment in Research and Development of such technology and infrastructure.
Green hydrogen production needs optimising plant designs and enhanced infrastructure but with the limited market data and low maturity it can be costly for the government.
Other challenge faced by green hydrogen production is the high energy lose. In the production of green energy losses of energy is quite high in its intermediate processes.

CONCLUSION

Due to the immense benefits of green hydrogen, everyone e=wants to increase its production. More than 10 countries right now are thinking of installing infrastructure for green hydrogen production. Green hydrogen offers solution to many problems whether related to environment or industry. As an alternative to fossil fuels and to make our environment much cleaner and pollution free government all over the world should launch schemes or projects for more green hydrogen production. With the increase in use of green hydrogen we can see a maintainable future.