Hydrogen for a Clean Energy Future

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogen is rapidly gaining global recognition as a cornerstone of clean energy transition. Its versatility—as a fuel, energy carrier, and industrial feedstock—makes it a promising solution to decarbonize sectors ranging from transport and power generation to chemical manufacturing and heavy industry. However, realizing the full potential of hydrogen requires advancements across multiple fronts: material development, system-level integration, infrastructure deployment, and environmental lifecycle assessment.

This Special Issue aims to bring together interdisciplinary research that addresses the scientific, technological, and sustainability aspects of hydrogen energy. It will focus on materials and systems designed for hydrogen production (including water electrolysis, thermochemical, and biological pathways), storage and distribution technologies, fuel cells, and hydrogen-powered systems. In addition, this Special Issue will explore the environmental implications of hydrogen technologies—from life cycle emissions and resource consumption to the broader role of hydrogen in achieving net-zero targets.

We invite researchers, engineers, and policymakers to contribute high-quality original articles, reviews, and case studies that showcase current progress, emerging challenges, and future opportunities in the hydrogen economy.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Sustainable hydrogen production from renewable and low-carbon sources;
• Advanced materials for hydrogen generation (electrocatalysts, photocatalysts, thermochemical materials);
• Biomass-derived hydrogen production;
• Materials and systems for hydrogen storage (metal hydrides, porous materials, LOHCs);
• Fuel cell technology development and applications;
• Hydrogen infrastructure: safety, distribution, and scalability;
• Techno-economic and lifecycle analysis of hydrogen systems;
• Environmental and societal impact of hydrogen deployment;
• Hydrogen integration into existing energy systems and smart grids;
• Policy frameworks and strategies supporting hydrogen transition;
• Applications in industry, transport, and power sectors;
• Advances in hydrogen sensors and diagnostic technologies;
• Coupling hydrogen with carbon capture and utilization (CCU);
• Circular hydrogen systems and integration with the circular economy.

Dr. Rajender Boddula
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Hydrogen is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• hydrogen generation
• hydrogen production and storage
• clean energy transition
• fuel cells
• carbon capture and utilization (CCU)
• hydrogen economy