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Commercially viable hydrogen production starts with methane, goes through a combination of "steam reforming" followed by "shift reaction." So far as I know, liq

Commercially viable hydrogen production starts with methane, goes through a combination of "steam reforming" followed by "shift reaction." So far as I know, liquefaction involves essentially mainstream cryogenic refrigeration.

Loughla 2y ago
And the energy for that comes from where?
- analog31 2y ago
  Probably more methane. As mentioned in the neighboring post, hydrogen is an energy storage mechanism, not an energy source. It's also a feedstock for some other chemical processes. Unless we can tap into some sort of "too cheap to meter but too hard to transport" energy source in the future.
  - coryrc 2y ago
    I recently learned there are natural hydrogen deposits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_hydrogen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_hydrogen
    - analog31 2y ago
      This isn't shocking, given that there's hydrogen in the atmosphere.
      - coryrc 2y ago
        I naïvely would have expected that's entirely from chemical reactions like lightning strikes.
        analog31 2y ago
        Ah good point, I hadn't thought about reactions above ground.
wrycoder 2y ago
Hydrogen is just a “battery” for energy storage. The ultimate goal is to produce “green” hydrogen by cracking water using solar energy - either via photovoltaics or developing a way through bioengineering photosynthesis.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > ultimate goal is to produce “green” hydrogen by cracking water using solar energy It’s miraculous how the gas industry succeeded where clean coal failed. There will be no green hydrogen. It’s a veneer. That the same folks building LNG terminals are pushing hydrogen isn’t a coïncidence. Even if we get a green hydrogen economy, there will constantly be an incentive to adulterate the supply.