Hydrogen Production Processes

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogen is a versatile, clean, and safe energy carrier that can be used as fuel for power or in industry as feedstock in several industrial processes. It can be produced both from renewable sources and from carbon-abated fossil fuels. H₂ possesses several advantages: at the point of use, zero emissions are assured; it can be stored and transported at high energy density in liquid or gaseous form; It can be combusted or used in fuel cells to generate heat and electricity.

The need for an energy transition is widely understood and shared; however, the implications and challenges that must be resolved call for a concerted effort. Hydrogen has the potential to be a powerful enabler of this transition as it offers a clean, sustainable, and flexible option for overcoming multiple obstacles that stand in the way of a resilient and low-carbon economy. The concept of mitigating climate change by transitioning to a low greenhouse gas emission-energy system, much reduced particulate emissions, and more sustainable, even circular, consumption and production, enjoys broad global support. The international community has embraced the idea in multiple international agreements, including the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), Habitat III, and COP21 in Paris. With COP21, 195 countries adopted the first universal, legally binding global climate deal that aims to keep “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5 °C”. To achieve the ambitions of COP21, Habitat III, and SDGs across all sectors, the world needs to embark on one of the most profound transformations in its history: a transition of energy supply and consumption from a system fueled primarily by non-renewable, carbon-based energy sources to one fueled by clean, low-carbon energy sources. New energy carriers will be needed to transfer the growing share of decarbonized primary energy toward the energy demand side while maintaining the quality of energy services provided to end uses (residential, industries, and transport).

One energy carrier promises to have the greatest possible impact when it comes to decarbonizing and implementing changes at scale: hydrogen. The present Topic is focused on the latest developments in the field of hydrogen production and use; therefore, papers regarding all the aspects related to these fields, including energy supply, reactors, catalysts, users, and so on, are welcome.

Dr. Eugenio Meloni
Dr. Marco Martino
Dr. Concetta Ruocco
Topic Editors