Hydrogen Production Methods and Eviremental Impacts

CALIFORNIA HYDROGEN HIGHWAY NETWORK
Hydrogen Production Methods and Environmental Impacts

Fact Sheet
Hydrogen has the potential to unlock a new energy future for California—a future based on secure, local,
and renewable energy sources that reduces harmful air pollutants, and is accessible and affordable to all
Californians. This transition won’t happen overnight but over time it can help create a sustainable
transportation future for California.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, however, it is most often found in combination
with other elements such as water or fossil fuels like natural gas. Separating hydrogen from these molecules
can present a number of challenges. Like any fuel, hydrogen takes energy to produce, creating the potential
to increase pollution or rely on fossil fuels and other unsustainable resources. When hydrogen is produced
from a variety of feed stocks including renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power the
emission impact can be zero it is used in a fuel cell vehicle. This is the long-term vision of the California
Hydrogen Highway Network (CaH2Net)
Environmental Goals
To ensure that the vision of a clean, sustainable transportation future is made a reality, CaH2Net stations
funded by the State must meet or exceed the environmental goals outlined in the California Hydrogen
Blueprint Plan. These goals are: a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; the use of at least 20% new
renewable energy resources to produce the hydrogen; and no increase in toxic or smog-forming emissions
relative to comparable gasoline vehicles.
There are a number of ways that hydrogen can be produced including electrolysis of water, steam
reformation of natural gas, biomass gasification and coal gasification to name a few. Today, the two most
common ways to produce hydrogen are steam reformation of natural gas and electrolysis of water.
To make a fair comparison of the full environmental impacts of hydrogen, the entire system of production
from “source-to-wheel” must be examined. This means that the analysis takes into account all of the steps it
takes to get the fuel from the source to driving the wheels of the vehicle, including the extraction and
processing of the fuel, transport of the fuel to the point of use, any additional processing that is needed,
fueling the vehicle and vehicle operation.
Electrolysis of Water
Electrolysis of water is a common method of producing hydrogen, and it involves using electricity and a
catalyst to break water apart into hydrogen and oxygen. Additional energy is then required to compress the
hydrogen into a high-pressure gas or cool the hydrogen into a liquid that can be stored and dispensed into a
vehicle.
How the electricity is generated is key to electrolysis equation because it can be produced using fossil
resources (i.e., natural gas and coal) or renewable resources like solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and,
biomass. When using renewable resources the emissions can be zero. However, when hydrogen is
produced using the current mix of sources on the California grid, particulate matter (PM) emissions and the
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be greater than those associated with gasoline on a well to wheel basis.
California recognizes that using renewable resources for electricity production will help improve air quality,
which is one reason why the State is requiring utilities to increase the amount of renewable resources used
for grid-electricity production to 20% by 2010 (The California Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The
goals of the CaH2Net are to use renewable resources to produce hydrogen that exceed the State’s 20% RPS
requirement. This is because, for electrolysis to be a viable and sustainable method of producing hydrogen,
it must employ more clean renewable electricity than what the grid alone currently provides.
Steam Reformation of Natural Gas
Currently, most hydrogen is produced by steam reformation of natural gas – mainly because it is one of the
cheapest methods of production. In this process, natural gas is combined with high temperature steam to
extract the hydrogen along with carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. The unwanted carbon monoxide
and carbon dioxide is removed from the mixture and the final result is pure hydrogen.
Although on-site steam reformation of natural gas is not the ultimate goal, it does provide a number of near
term benefits such as a 50 percent “source-to-wheel” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 40-90%
reduction in emissions of smog forming and toxic emissions compared to today’s gasoline-powered cars.1
It also lays a foundation for increasing the use of renewable feed stocks because hydrogen stations that are
constructed initially using natural gas could be modified to accept fuels derived from renewable and other
sources of energy as they become available. Additionally, the experience gained and improvements made at
stations using natural gas reformation could be applied to new reformation stations sited where renewable
fuels such as biomass, municipal solid waste, and landfill gas can be used as the fuel source.
Environmental Impacts of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle

Compared to a Gasoline Vehicle
Smog-forming and Greenhouse gas

Production Method Particulate Matter
toxics emissions emissions
On-Site Steam Reformation of 40 – 90% Lower 50% Lower

Lower
Natural Gas
Electrolysis of water using the

Lower Higher Higher
California grid
Electrolysis of water using

Lower – zero Lower – zero Lower – zero
renewable resources
Conclusions
Actions are being taken to bridge the gap between the current dominance of gasoline and the introduction
of hydrogen as a transportation fuel. Hydrogen is one of many options, including biodiesel, natural gas,
ethanol, and electricity, being explored and supported to provide a diverse mix of transportation fuels. In
the near-term hydrogen will be produced using a variety of methods, some cleaner than others. However, as
the network grows, California will work hard to ensure that hydrogen is produced in the most
environmentally sound manner possible. In order to realize this long term vision, steps must be taken during
this demonstration and testing phase to learn about all of the different hydrogen production options.
For More Information

To learn more about how hydrogen is produced, please see the Societal Benefits Topic Team Report located
on the California Hydrogen Highway web site located at (www.HydrogenHighway.ca.gov).
1
M. Wang, Y. Wu, and A. Elgowainy, 2005, Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in
Transportation (GREET) 1.7, Center for Transportation Research, Argon National Laboratory. Model simulation
comparing 2005 model year light duty vehicles to FCVs.
Page 2 www.HydrogenHighway.ca.gov September 21, 2006

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CALIFORNIA HYDROGEN HIGHWAY NETWORK

Hydrogen Production Methods and Environmental Impacts

Environmental Impacts of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle

Smog-forming and Greenhouse gas

On-Site Steam Reformation of 40 – 90% Lower 50% Lower

Electrolysis of water using the

Electrolysis of water using

For More Information

Page 2 www.HydrogenHighway.ca.gov September 21, 2006

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