HYWAY · Climate impacts of a HYdrogen Economy – the pathWAY to knowledge

The HYway project will be the most comprehensive study on environmental effects of large-scale hydrogen usage to date. HYway is led by a team of experienced scientists who have already conducted extensive research on the climate effects of hydrogen. To fully understand the climate effect of hydrogen emissions, HYway will constrain the hydrogen budget by novel work on surface emissions, measurements of leaks and soil uptake fluxes, and application of a global atmospheric model ensemble combined with observations to quantify the atmospheric sources and sinks of hydrogen. To improve monitoring tools for hydrogen leakages, HYway will develop novel emission modelling and installation-level emission measurements. We will measure the hydrogen soil sink using flux chambers and instrumented drones, and we will use this knowledge to improve process-based models of the sink. The Global Warming Potential of hydrogen and its Effective Radiative Forcing will be quantified, including the component contributions from methane, ozone, stratospheric water vapour and aerosols. HYway will also quantify several environmental effects associated with hydrogen emissions such as stratospheric ozone depletion and air pollution. HYway will build on existing methods to create realistic future scenarios to fully explore the climate and environmental impacts of a hydrogen economy, including co-emissions and associated reductions in fossil fuel-related emissions. HYway includes a large advisory board of industry partners, several of them from established hydrogen collaborations. The advisory board will assist in estimating hydrogen leakage rates and in establishing realistic scenarios for a future hydrogen economy. By evaluating the potential climate and environmental impacts of a hydrogen economy, HYway will provide critical information to policymakers and stakeholders, allowing them to make informed decisions about the role of hydrogen in the transition to a low-carbon economy.