The use of hydrogen as a fuel source poses many safety risks, including fires and explosions, and contributes to local air pollution when burned.

As an indirect greenhouse gas, hydrogen leaks can contribute to climate change even before it is burned. This is especially important because hydrogen molecules are much smaller than methane, meaning it can leak more easily.

Hydrogen also requires vast amounts of water to produce, which could strain local water sources, particularly in drought-prone areas.

Hydrogen rarely occurs in nature in a form suitable for use, meaning that a significant amount of energy is needed to isolate it in a usable form.

Due to losses during conversion, transportation, and other challenges associated with hydrogen gas, most of the energy used to produce it is lost before the fuel can be used. In other words, 100 Mw/h of solar power would only yield about 25 Mw/h of hydrogen-powered electricity. In most cases, it is much more efficient to use solar energy directly or store it in a battery.

While many believe hydrogen is the future of clean energy, it is a greenwashing tool largely promoted by the oil & gas industry.

This false solution extends the use of fossil fuels by blending hydrogen with methane (in pipelines, power plants, and homes), posing additional health, safety, and environmental challenges. It is a way to steer climate investments toward profitable fossil fuel companies and to derail progress toward truly renewable alternatives that threaten their business model.

Given the seriousness of the climate crisis, investing taxpayer money in an unproven, risky, and expensive scheme led by the fossil fuel industry is an unwise use of limited funding available for climate mitigation.