As Australia and the world come to grips with the Covid health and economic crises, it must also tackle the pan-generational crisis of climate change. Hydrogen is a key part of the solution and can be derived from a variety of sources. It can be Green, Blue, Grey, Brown, Black (and colours in between). So why the colours? Well, Hydrogen can be made from renewable sources such as wind and solar power; and it can be made from fossil fuels including gas and brown coal. The colours act as useful markers for showing how the hydrogen was produced and allows governments, businesses and communities to evaluate their downsides compared to the advantages of clean, zero-emissions products.

  • Green Hydrogen is from 100% zero-emissions renewable sources such as wind and solar;
  • Blue Hydrogen is where the process produces Hydrogen without the production of additional emissions (e.g. using nuclear power);
  • Synthetic Blue is where the process uses technology (e.g. Carbon Capture & Storage, carbon credits) to achieve net-zero emissions; and
  • Grey, Brown or Black Hydrogen is where it is produced (usually from natural gas or brown coal) with additional emissions.

For hydrogen to be truly ‘clean’ it must be made with renewables, not fossil fuels. If Australia is to maximise the potential for hydrogen exports to countries including Japan, South Korea and Germany – it is critically important that trading partners have confidence in the quality of our hydrogen. The global market for technologies to support renewable power generation, energy storage and hydrogen production was calculated at €508 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow by around 80 per cent by 2025, to €897 billion. Australia will need to accept the demands and needs of international buyers and that will likely be Japan, South Korea, Singapore and countries in Europe, including […]