HYDROGEN - AN ENERGY CARRIER

Energy carriers move energy in a usable form from one place to another. Electricity is the most well-known energy carrier. We use electricity to move the energy in coal, uranium, and other energy sources from power plants to homes and businesses. We also use electricity to move the energy in flowing water from hydropower dams to consumers. It is much easier to use electricity than the energy sources themselves.

Like electricity, hydrogen is an energy carrier and must be produced from another substance. Hydrogen is not widely used today but it has great potential as an energy carrier in the future. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of resources (water, fossil fuels, biomass) and is a byproduct of other chemical processes. Unlike electricity, large quantities of hydrogen can be easily stored to be used in the future. Hydrogen can also be used in places where it’s hard to use electricity. Hydrogen can store the energy until it’s needed and can be moved to where it’s needed.

Last Reviewed: October 2008 
Sources: Energy Information Administration, The Impact of Increased Use of Hydrogen on Petroleum Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions, August 2008.
Energy Information Administration, Alternatives to Traditional Transportation Fuels 2006, May 2008.
The National Energy Education Development Project, Intermediate Energy Infobook, 2005.