Green hydrogen has been hyped as the clean fuel that will replace fossil gas in steelworks, refineries, chemical plants and cement kilns. But experts know a hard truth: building a hydrogen economy is not just about producing hydrogen. It’s about solving a stack of structural problems — from water scarcity to grid capacity to where you physically put the equipment.
New research from the Universtity of Cantabria in Santander [43.5°N, 3.8°W] shows that these hurdles are not deal-breakers. In fact, the authors demonstrate exactly how to overcome them with a single, integrated systems plan that drops carbon emissions, protects water resources, and keeps costs globally competitive.
Their conclusion: hydrogen is viable with joined-up thinking rather than reductionism.
Hurdle 1: The idea that Hydrogen production uses freshwater
✔ Solution: Skip freshwater entirely — use desalinated seawater.
Electrolysers do need ultra-pure water, and in most industrial regions, water is already under pressure from cities, agriculture and climate-driven drought.
This model sidesteps the issue:
✅ place electrolysers at desalination plants
✅ draw in seawater → purify → split into hydrogen and oxygen
✅ zero impact on municipal or agricultural water supply
With desalination providing 41 m³/hour of process water, the system completely avoids freshwater competition.
Water scarcity does not have to block green hydrogen at all.
Hurdle 2: The idea that running heavy industry on renewables would overloading the grid demand
✔ Solution: Feed wind and solar directly into hydrogen production.
Many industrial clusters sit on old electrical grids not designed to handle massive renewable inputs. Instead of forcing electrolyser plants onto the grid, the study models a smarter route:
✅ locate hydrogen production near renewable power
✅ move hydrogen to industry, not electricity
✅ reduce strain on public grids
✅ avoid expensive transmission upgrades
Hydrogen becomes the transportable carrier of clean electricity — a pressure valve that stops grids from collapsing.
Hurdle 3: The idea that hydrogen power is too expensive
✔ Solution: Size the system scientifically, not politically.
The paper uses Mixed-Integer Linear Programming to optimise thousands of combinations of:
- electrolyser capacity
- pipeline layout
- renewable generation
- storage
- transport modes
The best system wasn’t the biggest — just the smartest.
With 3.4 GW of PEM electrolysers powered by wind + solar, the model delivered a ground-breaking result:
✅ Hydrogen cost: $2.18 per kg
✅ 4.4 million tonnes of CO₂ eliminated every year
That price point turns green hydrogen from “aspirational” into a serious competitor to fossil gas.
Hurdle 4: The idea that transporting hydrogen is too difficult or dangerous
✔ Solution: Use the right tool for the right distance.
The model found that no single transport mode works best everywhere:
- Pipelines are cheaper when hydrogen production sits near industry
- Trucks are cheapest when distances are short or flows small
- Storage only matters at seasonal scale — not daily
By mixing modes instead of picking one winner, transport stops being a technological obstacle and becomes an infrastructure choice.
What this means for real industries
The system successfully decarbonised:
✅ cement
✅ ceramics
✅ refineries
These are exactly the industries that traditionally cannot electrify, because they need extreme heat or chemical reactions based on hydrogen and hydrocarbons. The model shows that fossil-based hydrogen (produced from natural gas) can be replaced without raising industrial operating costs.
This is not a pilot project — it is a deployable blueprint.
The main message
Hydrogen will not decarbonise industry simply because we believe in it.
It will succeed because we build it as a holistic system, where energy, water, storage, geography and industry are tightly planned — not siloed.
This research shows that;
- Water scarcity can be bypassed
- Grid capacity doesn’t have to be upgraded
- Industry can cut millions of tonnes of CO₂
- The cost of hydrogen can fall below fossil alternatives
- Green hydrogen can replace grey hydrogen at industrial scale
- The future of hydrogen isn’t hypothetical anymore: It’s engineered.
Source
Decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries under water constraints via renewable hydrogen infrastructure planning, Energy Conversion and Management, 2025-03-01
Boˆreal 