Do We Need New Systems For Hydrogen?

Written By Teacher: Elizabeth Ward

My name is Elizabeth Ward. I am a former Early Childhood, Elementary, and English as a Foreign Language educator. I have taught third grade Science and Social Studies as well as Kindergarten in both urban and rural Oklahoma public schools. I taught online EFL to students of all ages in China for four years. I also have experience in curriculum development and content design for teachers in the physical and digital classroom. As a former teacher I have a passion for supporting teachers and making their jobs easier. I currently live in the greater Houston area with my husband and four dogs. 

Transitioning from fossil fuels to hydrogen presents both opportunities and challenges when considering existing infrastructure like pipelines and power plants. Understanding whether current systems can accommodate hydrogen helps students explore the complexities of energy transitions, including safety, efficiency, and economic feasibility. This topic provides a foundation for discussions on adapting technology for a low-carbon future and the role of innovation in sustainable energy solutions. Invite your high school students to learn more about Renewable Energy with these Learning Lab Lessons from The Climate Initiative. Younger students will enjoy this lesson about energy storage.

Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.

Today, hydrogen is used in a number of industrial processes, particularly for refining oil and producing ammonia for fertilizer. But as the world economy transitions to running on clean energy, companies and policymakers hope to use more “green” or “renewable” hydrogen—produced with clean electricity and water instead of climate-warming methane gas—both to replace existing hydrogen sources, and to power other climate-polluting industries like steel and cement.

But scaling up hydrogen use will require dramatically growing the 1,600 miles of pipelines in the U.S. that currently transport it. Many companies have looked to the 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines as a potential transportation network, but the chemical properties of hydrogen will make that a challenge. “The bottom line: it is not as straightforward as just pushing through hydrogen in existing infrastructure,” says Emre Gençer, a principal research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative. “Either it should be retrofitted or we need new infrastructure.”