Academia, industry, and policy makers often disagree on what can be considered clean hydrogen. Strict criteria for production of hydrogen are necessary for hydrogen to play a credible role in a low carbon society. Here are the things to consider, and what loopholes to look out for.

The industry and transport sector can reduce emissions significantly by switching from carbon containing fuels that emit carbon dioxide to hydrogen that only “emits” water when burned. However, significant emissions can be related to its production, therefore low emission production of hydrogen is crucial to keep life cycle emissions of hydrogen value chains as low as possible.