Shift to Hydrogen Could Meet 20% of World Energy Needs by 2050
- Shell, Statoil and BMW among companies urging support for fuel
- Transition requires investment of up to $25 billion a year
A driver places a hydrogen fuel pump into a Mirai hydrogen fuel powered automobile, manufactured by Toyota Motor Corp.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThe most abundant element may supply almost a fifth of global energy by 2050 and eliminate enough emissions to cancel out all the pollution in the U.S., according to a group of industrial companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Toyota Motor Corp.
Fuel-cell vehicles running on hydrogen, extracted from water using wind and solar power, may be used to power everything from cars to factories, according to the Hydrogen Council, a group that also includes the German automaker BMW AG, the mining giant Anglo American Plc and the French energy company Engie SA. The group estimated hydrogen has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 6 gigatons a year, more than the 5.5 gigatons the U.S. released in 2016.