Explainer: The hydrogen rainbow
Turquoise hydrogen also comes from natural gas. But this H2 is split from methane’s carbon atoms in a different way. It’s known as pyrolysis. Here, high heat breaks down methane into H2 and solid carbon. The solid carbon would not go into the air. So it would not add to global warming. And the carbon could be used for other things, like making tires or parking lots.
Pyrolysis can be done in an industrial setting as natural gas comes into a facility. So it wouldn’t need new pipelines, says Mack Hopen. He’s at Modern Hydrogen in Bothell, Wash. There, he works to get turquoise hydrogen into commercial markets.
However, there would still be some methane leaks from getting methane to an industrial plant. And the process still is costly. But some say the technology could act as a bridge from fossil fuels to a H2 economy. A team at the Max Planck Institute in Mülheim, Germany, shared that view in 2021.
