Will Hawaii Be the World’s First Hydrogen Economy? 

The notion of the “hydrogen economy” has been around since the early 1970s, brought into play in the aftermath of the oil embargo.  The concept is that pure hydrogen can be made by electrolyzing water or reforming methane with energy from any of a variety of resources (which can be variable in nature, e.g., solar and wind), and then that hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, thus replacing internal combustion engines powered by liquid hydrocarbons.

The term is still bandied about, though most sensible people have given up the idea entirely, largely on the basis that the delivery infrastructure for hydrogen fuel does not exist, where the same infrastructure to deliver electricity (to power EVs) is already ubiquitous.  Having said that, the author here points to several features of island life that make the calculus in Hawaii much different.

PS: Whatever happens to the hydrogen economy, you won’t find me within about 50 feet of the position taken by the young man in the photo here.