Creating regulatory timelines to invent, commercialize and deploy new technologies is a fool’s errand.
Your editorial “Europe’s Lesson in Green Hydrogen” (Feb. 16) correctly critiques Europe’s 20 million metric ton “green hydrogen” target for 2030, but it could have gone even further. In addition to the enormous quantities of wind and solar capacity that would be required to manufacture this hydrogen via electrolysis, there are major issues with transporting and storing the energy, as well as with the new technology required to burn pure hydrogen.
First, existing natural-gas pipelines can’t be used to transport pure hydrogen. Hydrogen embrittles steel, and when under pressure gas pipelines are likely to develop fractures, which could lead to explosive failures. Transporting and storing vast quantities of hydrogen will require new and costly pipeline infrastructure, as well as new storage tanks.
Continue reading the entire piece here at The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
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Jonathan A. Lesser, PhD, is the president of Continental Economics, an economic consulting firm, and an adjunct fellow with the Manhattan Institute.
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