Hydrogen is utilised in a wide variety of industrial operations.

Almost all of the hydrogen consumed in the United States is utilised by industry for petroleum refining, metal treatment, fertiliser production, and food processing. Hydrogen is used in petroleum refineries in the United States to reduce the sulphur level of fuels.

Hydrogen is employed in space exploration.

NASA began using liquid hydrogen as a rocket fuel in the 1950s, and NASA was one of the first to use hydrogen fuel cells to power spacecraft electrical systems.

Electricity is generated via hydrogen fuel cells.

By mixing hydrogen and oxygen atoms, hydrogen fuel cells generate energy. Hydrogen combines with oxygen in a manner similar to a battery’s electrochemical cell to produce energy, water, and trace amounts of heat.

There are numerous varieties of fuel cells available for a variety of uses. Small fuel cells are capable of powering laptop computers, cell phones, and potentially military uses. Large fuel cells can power electric power systems, provide backup or emergency power in buildings, and provide electricity in areas not connected to electric power grids.

As of the end of October 2021, there were approximately 166 functioning fuel cell electric power generators at 113 locations in the United States, with a combined capacity of approximately 260 megawatts (MW). The largest single fuel cell is owned by Bridgeport (Connecticut) Fuel Cell, LLC, which has a capacity of around 16 MW. The next two largest functioning fuel cells have a combined capacity of 6 MW. One of them is located in the Red Lion Energy Center in Delaware, which also houses five smaller fuel cells and has a combined capacity of 25 megawatts. While the majority of functioning fuel cells utilise pipeline natural gas as their hydrogen source, three utilise landfill gas and three utilise biogas from wastewater treatment.

The San Diego Gas and Electric Company’s power-to-gas-to-power project will use the electric grid to electrolyze hydrogen and then use it to generate electricity in a fuel cell.

Hydrogen combustion for electricity generation

Hydrogen as a power plant fuel is gaining popularity. Several power stations in the United States have declared plans to run combustion gas turbines on a natural gas-hydrogen fuel combination. One example is the 485 MW Long Ridge Energy Generation Project in Ohio, which will use a 95 percent natural gas/5 percent hydrogen fuel combination in a gas turbine, with the goal of eventually using 100 percent green hydrogen derived from renewable sources. Another example is Intermountain Power Agency’s planned conversion of a coal-fired power plant in Utah to a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant that will initially use up to 30% hydrogen and eventually 100% green hydrogen.

Vehicles powered by hydrogen

Under the 1992 Energy Policy Act, hydrogen is classified as an alternate transportation fuel. The interest in hydrogen as an alternative transportation fuel arises from its ability to power fuel cells in zero-emission vehicles (vehicles that emit no pollutants into the atmosphere), its domestic production capability, and the fuel cell’s high efficiency potential. A fuel cell may be two to three times as efficient than a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine. While hydrogen can also be used to fuel internal combustion engines, burning it produces nitrogen oxides and is less efficient than using it in fuel cells. Numerous vehicle manufacturers provide light-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for lease or purchase in California, where public hydrogen fuelling stations are available. Additionally, limited quantities of test vehicles are accessible to groups with access to hydrogen fuelling facilities.

Due to the high cost of fuel cells and the scarcity of hydrogen vehicle fuelling stations, the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles on the road today is restricted. Production of hydrogen-fueled automobiles is constrained because consumers will not purchase them until hydrogen refueling stations are readily available, and corporations will not develop refueling stations unless they have customers with hydrogen-fueled vehicles. There are around 48 hydrogen vehicle fuelling stations in the United States, with nearly all of them located in California. California’s Clean Transportation Program includes aid for the establishment of publicly accessible hydrogen vehicle fuelling stations around the state, with the goal of fostering a consumer market for zero-emission fuel cell vehicles.