Hydrogen: Energy’s Version of Waiting for Godot

Elon Musk may consider hydrogen “mind-bogglingly stupid” as a power source for cars, but the derision of the world’s most successful electric vehicle manufacturer has not stopped Washington from nursing dreams that hydrogen might become a big part of an envisioned clean new energy future. 

That dream came into focus three years ago at a time when the “climate crisis” dominated Washington’s thinking. Praising the role hydrogen could play in a brave new energy world that was “sustainable and equitable,” the United States had a plan and the money in place to set off something more than a mushroom cloud with the world’s most plentiful element.

The National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, released in June 2023, claimed the planned $9.5 billion in spending on various hydrogen projects would result in 100,000 jobs by 2030, while also reducing the economy’s emissions by 10% by 2050.

Now, however, the vision appears dormant in the Trump administration. The national plan may not be a flaming skeleton like the most infamous hydrogen project of the last century, the Hindenburg – a different administration could resurrect it – but its single biggest item, $3 billion to two West Coast “hydrogen hubs,” is halted and in litigation.