Green Hydrogen: Pathway to Net Zero Green House Gas Emission and Global Climate Change Mitigation

Abstract

Green hydrogen is gaining recognition as a viable substitute for fossil fuels, presenting a sustainable solution for global decarbonization. While significant progress has been made in hydrogen production, storage, and utilization, there remains a crucial need to assess its economic viability and integration into current energy systems and to reduce its emission footprint. This review delves into the prospects and challenges of green hydrogen deployment into the renewable energy mix, with a particular focus on cost reduction approaches, storage limitations, transportation, scalability, advancements in electrolysis, and diverse sectoral applications. By analyzing recent technological developments and policy frameworks, this review contributes a thorough evaluation of green hydrogen’s viability to achieve net-zero emissions. Furthermore, this review enhances understanding of the role of green hydrogen in climate change mitigation by identifying major scalability barriers and proffering actionable solutions, assessing life cycle emission reductions, and examining key policy measures required for large-scale adoption. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of advancing green hydrogen storage solutions, increasing the efficiency of electrolysis processes, reducing costs, and implementing stronger policy measures to support large-scale adoption. Our findings and results demonstrate that green hydrogen has 66–95% potential of reducing global warming when integrated with other renewables. Its widespread adoption will drastically reduce anticipated climate mitigation costs of $10.0–15.7 trillion in the next decades, with progress in electrolysis technology, cost efficiency, and various industrial applications. Our recommendation for future studies emphasizes improved catalyst durability, material enhancements for electrolyzer, integration of green hydrogen into hybrid renewable energy networks, and establishment of globally coordinated policies to accelerate its deployment. By bridging the divide between technological advancements and practical implementation, this research provides valuable guidance for scientists, policymakers, and industry stakeholders striving for a sustainable energy transition.