The green hydrogen hype

Re: “L.A. needs clean energy. Is hydrogen the answer?” March 27

Kudos to Sammy Roth, as usual, for a great article on hydrogen, but let’s stop talking about hydrogen as a fuel. We don’t have much free hydrogen on Earth — it is created by splitting water, which takes energy. So it would be better to talk about hydrogen as a storage medium — think a battery.

Words matter. As fossil fuel interests try to survive, referring to hydrogen as a fuel makes it seem like we have a source of clean energy readily available. Thinking of it as a battery focuses us rightly on where the original power comes from. So remember: On Earth, hydrogen is a battery, not a fuel.

David Lappen

Santa Monica

Roth’s article on hydrogen makes good arguments but misses the point. Skepticism around gas companies’ motives for embracing hydrogen is understandable, but we should recognize that these companies operate infrastructure vital to decarbonization.

“Green” hydrogen is the best solution for many tough carbon problems. Scaling this new energy resource requires collaboration with the gas sector. Vilifying it will only slow the transition.

Blending green hydrogen into gas is not the end game, but it is a necessary step in scaling green hydrogen to replace gas completely. Green hydrogen is one of the few viable tools to decarbonize infrastructure industries and can even help decarbonize our grid.

Additionally, heating in cold seasons cannot be served by renewable electricity. Renewable hydrogen is a vital decarbonization tool.

The gas industry is best positioned to transmit, store and distribute it. They can and should be a part of the solution if we want to move quickly.

Raffi Garabedian

San Carlos

The writer is CEO of Electric Hydrogen and former CTO of First Solar.