Hydrogen is commonly mentioned as a future-proof energy carrier capable of decarbonizing the future energy system.
But hydrogen needs to be applied in a sensible way and focused on hard-to-decarbonize sectors due to the energy intensity of its manufacturing process. For building thermal demands existing solutions like district heating for urban areas and heat pumps for rural areas are more energy-efficient applications. Dr. Oddgeir Gudmundsson compares in his article district heating and hydrogen-based heat supply systems for urban areas driven by natural gas and renewable energy. The results show that district heating is significantly more energy efficient than hydrogen-based heat supply; consequently, it has a much lower environmental footprint.
