We need “blue” hydrogen. And we need to get it right.

The document advocates for the strategic use of "blue" hydrogen to accelerate decarbonization in sectors like heavy trucking, shipping, and steel production. It argues that relying solely on "green" hydrogen (electrolysis via renewables) would require an impractical increase in wind and solar capacity—potentially 40 times current U.S. levels—and excessive land use. While acknowledging that blue hydrogen's climate benefit depends on high carbon capture rates and low upstream methane leaks, the author asserts that these technical goals are feasible today. The document concludes that policymakers should implement tiered incentives tied to lifecycle greenhouse gas performance to ensure hydrogen production actually supports net-zero goals.

• Hydrogen is critical for decarbonizing sectors where clean electricity is difficult to implement, including iron and steel, chemicals manufacturing, international marine shipping, and heavy trucking.
• Relying exclusively on renewable electricity for hydrogen production could significantly hinder grid decarbonization; CATF modeling suggests the U.S. might need 40 times more wind and solar than currently exists if all required hydrogen is produced this way, compared to 20 times for direct loads alone.
• Blue hydrogen is presented as a way to mitigate land-use conflicts associated with renewables; citing The Nature Conservancy, the text notes wind energy in the U.S. may impact 40 times more land per unit of energy than conventional natural gas production.
• Blue hydrogen is currently more cost-effective than green hydrogen, with production costs in low-cost natural gas regions estimated at $1.50 per kg or less, while green hydrogen costs are more than double that amount.
• The climate viability of blue hydrogen depends on reducing upstream methane leaks and implementing high-efficiency carbon capture; achieving these can result in an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the direct use of natural gas.
• To ensure hydrogen production supports climate goals, the author recommends that policymakers use graduated or tiered incentives linked to rigorous monitoring and verification of lifecycle greenhouse gas performance.

APA

Fowler, M. (2021). We need “blue” hydrogen. And we need to get it right. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2021/09/we-need-blue-hydrogen-and-we-need-to-get-it-right/

Chicago

Fowler, Mike. We need “blue” hydrogen. And we need to get it right. Clean Air Task Force, 2021. https://www.catf.us/2021/09/we-need-blue-hydrogen-and-we-need-to-get-it-right/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fowler |first1=Mike |title=We need “blue” hydrogen. And we need to get it right. |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=3 September 2021 |url=https://www.catf.us/2021/09/we-need-blue-hydrogen-and-we-need-to-get-it-right/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fowler2021need, author = {Fowler, Mike}, title = {{We need “blue” hydrogen. And we need to get it right.}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.catf.us/2021/09/we-need-blue-hydrogen-and-we-need-to-get-it-right/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }