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danielv123 t1_iwq861g wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Overhyping hydrogen as a fuel risks endangering net-zero goals by filosoful

Hydrogen is one of the worst alternatives to heat pumps I could imagine, short of resistant heating powered by hydrogen driven turbines. Electrolysis is about 75% efficient. That means you need a lot of extra electricity. In addition you need facilities for electrolysis, which isn't cheap.

It might help a bit as a form of storage but is still worse than hydrogen + tubine + heatpump.

Cost to the individual shouldn't matter, the lowest overall cost should be picked. In a hydrogen conversion scenario the lowest cost often ends up being natural gas, which gets us nowhere.

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[deleted] t1_iwq8rfs wrote

It's a matter of inertia, not just cost. You will get people transitioning to heat pumps over time, absolutely, and they're the best option by far. But in the mean time, hydrogen gets those same people off natural gas incredibly quickly, without the gargantuan total-war-like effort required to replace every boiler and cooker in every home in Europe in the same time frame.

The overall cost isn't the only consideration. Stopping a large chunk of emissions quicker but expensively is better than too late and cheaply.

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