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(Shameless promotion: if this stuff interests you, check out my brand-new course https://www.terra.do/hydrogen-economy https://www.terra.do/hydrogen-economy) There is a developing consensus that in order to get to "net zero" by 2050, hydrogen will need to be a significant part of the energy mix. For example, here [1] are two forecasts that predict H2 will account for ~10% of global energy use. This could just be dismissed as "hype" but across China, Europe, and elsewhere, real money is going into electrolyzers and fuel cells (at, I dunno, 500% YOY growth?) which I think is why stocks are acting as they are. Here's a list of where H2 fits in, and other sustainable alternatives. (Of course, for all entries, "indefinite fossil fuel usage" is an option in some sense!) Current H2 usage. Fossil-derived hydrogen is a cornerstone of the economy (for eg fertilizer), and responsible for a few % of global GHG emissions. Replacing that with low-carbon-intensity hydrogen would be a major win by itself. Kind of by definition, there are few alternatives here. Other industrial uses. The production of steel, plastics, etc are complicated systems, each too complicated to explain here, but eg HYBRIT [2], a fossil-free steel plant, could reduce emissions from Nordic countries by 7-10%. I have not heard of many alternative decarbonization pathways here. Non-passenger-vehicle transport (trucks, ships, planes, trains). Molecular fuels have higher energy density than current-gen batteries by 1-2 orders of magnitude. I predict that these vehicles will mostly not be battery-powered. Biofuels are another prospect. "E-fuels" (sourced from H2 and an atmospheric carbon source) are another. Lots more. Intermittent renewable valorization, building heat, power storage, gas pipeline admixtures... but this comment is already too long. I also like this story [3] about the Intermountain Power Plant, the largest H2 project in the US that I'm aware of. [1] ETC: Page 38-39 of https://www.energy-transitions.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Making-Mission-Possible-Full-Report.pdf https://www.energy-transitions.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/0... BP: https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/energy-outlook/demand-by-fuel/hydrogen.html; https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/ener... https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/energy-outlook/demand-by-fuel.html https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/ener... [2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-steel-hydrogen/swedens-hybrit-starts-operations-at-pilot-plant-for-fossil-free-steel-idUSKBN25R1PI https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-steel-hydrogen/swe... [3] https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-12-10/los-angeles-hydrogen-fueled-intermountain-power-plant https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-12-10/los-ang...