Moving Beyond the Colors: The Full Life-Cycle Emissions of Hydrogen Production Pathways for California

August 29, 2024

Authors: Timothy Lipman, Transportation Sustainability, University of California, Berkeley; Pablo Busch, ITS, University of California, Davis; Stephanie Collins, Transportation Sustainability, University of California, Berkeley; Arpad Horvath, Transportation Sustainability, University of California, Berkeley; Alissa Kendall, ITS, University of California, Davis; Daniel Coffee, ITS, University of California, Los Angeles; and David Kong, ITS, University of California, Los Angeles.

Abstract: 

There is growing interest in the use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel but the environmental benefits of using hydrogen depend critically on how it is produced and distributed. Leading alternatives to using fossil natural gas to make hydrogen through the conventional method of steam methane reforming include using electrolyzers to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and the use of biogas as an alternative feedstock to fossil natural gas. This report examines the latest carbon intensity (CI) estimates for these and various other hydrogen production processes, adding important nuances to the general “colors of hydrogen” scheme that has been used in recent years. CI values for hydrogen production can vary widely both within and across hydrogen production pathways. The lowest CI pathways use biomass or biogas as a feedstock, and solar or wind power. The report also analyses jobs creation from new hydrogen production facilities and shows that these benefits can be significant for large-scale facilities based on either future biomass/biogas-to-hydrogen or solar-hydrogen production technologies. Recommendations include setting stricter goals for the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program to continue to reduce the carbon footprint of California’s transportation fuels.

Read the report: https://doi.org/10.7922/G26Q1VKR