Hydrogen’s Seven Missing Pieces - CleanTechnica

The article "Hydrogen’s Seven Missing Pieces" from CleanTechnica critically examines the challenges facing hydrogen as a broad energy carrier beyond its established industrial uses. While hydrogen remains essential for sectors like fertilizer, petrochemicals, and biofuels—where low-carbon hydrogen is necessary to meet climate goals—the article argues that hydrogen is unlikely to scale effectively for heating, transport, and power due to a series of systemic barriers. The core issue is that hydrogen starts at a fundamental cost disadvantage compared to oil, gas, or electricity when measured per unit of energy (BTU), and the entire energy system must overcome this gap simultaneously for hydrogen to succeed widely. The article outlines seven critical conditions that must all be met for hydrogen to become a common energy carrier, emphasizing that failure in any one condition breaks the chain. Key points include the need for electrolyzers to achieve rapid cost reductions similar to solar panels and batteries, which currently is not happening due to slow production scaling and limited learning rates. Additionally, electrolyzer