Hydrogen Green Metrics Report WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS - Week 3
Series—Week Three
In today’s third installment of highlights from the SEP report, we examine the sources of hydrogen released into the atmosphere.
Hydrogen is an indirect greenhouse gas with a GWP100 of 12. Atmospheric concentration is relatively low and annual hydrogen production-related leaks are a small fraction of total hydrogen sources. Growth in clean hydrogen production as part of the energy transition to decarbonize many hard-to-abate industries necessitates low leak rates.
The majority of hydrogen emissions come from non-anthropogenic sources, while most anthropogenic emissions are not linked to leaks from hydrogen production. Annual global hydrogen emissions are estimated at 74 million metric tonnes (MMT). This includes photochemical sources, where hydrogen is generated through atmospheric reactions in the presence of sunlight, as well as direct anthropogenic sources such as fossil fuel combustion.
Leaks from hydrogen production are not included in this estimate. However, researchers estimate that global hydrogen production—approximately 90 MMT per year—adds an additional 2–3 MMT of hydrogen emissions.
The SEP report Hydrogen Green Metrics investigates this and other environmental features of hydrogen production, transportation, and use. For more information, the report may be accessed here: https://www.saoradh.com/marketplace-new
—SEP Hydrogen Innovation Report, Chapter 2: Green Metrics, January 2025
About Saoradh Enterprise Partners
Saoradh Enterprise Partners (SEP) is a cleantech venture capital and research firm based in Boulder, Colorado. SEP partners with innovators, entrepreneurs, and corporations to develop cleantech solutions at the magical intersection of science (what’s possible), finance (what’s bankable), industry (what’s needed), and planet (what matters). Learn more at www.saoradh.com.
Media contact:
Jackson Levin, Business Development & Communications, Hydrogen Data Consortium
+1 (303) 448-2115 (office main number)
+1 (414) 405-3743 (cell)