There’s a buzz about green hydrogen. But pink, produced using nuclear, may have a huge role to play too
Both pink and blue have been used to differentiate between different methods of hydrogen production.
Eve Livesey | Moment | Getty Images
From Tesla’s Elon Musk to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the past few years have seen many high-profile names talk about the role hydrogen may — or may not — play in the planet’s shift to a more sustainable future.
Musk has expressed skepticism about hydrogen’s usefulness, but many think it could help to slash emissions in a number of sectors, including transportation and heavy industry.
While there’s a major buzz about hydrogen and its importance as a tool in securing a low-carbon future — a topic that’s generated a lot of debate in recent months — the vast majority of its production is still based on fossil fuels.
Indeed, according to a Sept. 2022 tracking report from the International Energy Agency, low-emission hydrogen production in 2021 accounted for less than 1% of global hydrogen production.
If it’s to have any role in the planned energy transition, then hydrogen generation needs to change in a pretty big way.
“The first thing to say is that hydrogen doesn’t really exist naturally, so it has to be produced,” said Rachael Rothman, co-director of the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures at the University of Sheffield.
“It has a lot of potential to help us decarbonize going forwards, but we need to find low-carbon ways of producing it in the first place,” she said, adding that different methods of production had been “denoted different colors.”
“About 95% of our hydrogen today comes from steam methane reforming and has a large associated carbon footprint, and that’s what’s called ‘grey’ hydrogen,” Rothman told CNBC.
Grey hydrogen is, according to energy firm National Grid, “created from natural gas, or methane.” It says that the greenhouse gases associated with the process are not captured, hence the carbon footprint that Rothman refers to.
The dominance of such a method is clearly at odds with net-zero goals. As a result, an array of sources, systems and colors of hydrogen are now being put forward as alternatives.
These include green hydrogen, which refers to hydrogen produced using renewables and electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.
Blue hydrogen, on the other hand, indicates the use of natural gas — a fossil fuel — and carbon capture utilization and storage. There has been a charged debate around the role blue hydrogen could play in the decarbonization of society.
Pink potential
Alongside blue and green, another color attracting attention is pink. Like green hydrogen, its process incorporates electrolysis, but there’s a key difference: pink uses nuclear.
“If you split … water, you get hydrogen and oxygen,” Rothman said. “But splitting water takes energy, so what pink hydrogen is about is splitting water using energy that has come from nuclear.”
This means that “the whole system is low carbon, because … there’s no carbon in water … but also the energy source is also very low carbon because it’s nuclear.”
Alongside electrolysis, Rothman noted that nuclear could also be used with something called a thermochemical cycle.
This, she explained, harnessed very high temperatures to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.
Pink hydrogen already has some potentially significant backers. These include EDF Energy, which has floated the idea of producing hydrogen at Sizewell C, a 3.2-gigawatt nuclear power station planned for the U.K.
“At Sizewell C, we are exploring how we can produce and use hydrogen in several ways,” the firm’s website says. “Firstly, it could help lower emissions during construction of the power station.”
“Secondly, once Sizewell C is operational, we hope to use some of the heat it generates (alongside electricity) to make hydrogen more efficiently,” it adds.
EDF Energy, which is part of the multinational EDF Group, said in a statement sent to CNBC: “Hydrogen produced from nuclear power can play a substantial role in the energy transition.”
The company also acknowledged there were challenges facing the sector and its development.
“Hydrogen is currently a relatively expensive fuel and so the key challenge for low carbon electrolytic hydrogen, whether produced from renewable or nuclear energy, is to bring down the costs of production,” it said.
This needed “supportive policies which encourage investment in early hydrogen production projects and encourage users to switch from fossil fuels to low carbon hydrogen.”
“Growing the market for low carbon hydrogen will deliver the economies of scale and “learning by doing” which will help to reduce the costs of production.”
While there is excitement about the role nuclear could play in hydrogen production and the wider energy transition — the IEA, for example, says nuclear power has “significant potential to contribute to power sector decarbonisation” — it goes without saying that it’s not favored by all.
Critics include Greenpeace. “Nuclear power is touted as a solution to our energy problems, but in reality it’s complex and hugely expensive to build,” the environmental organization says. “It also creates huge amounts of hazardous waste.”
A multi-colored future?
During her interview with CNBC, the University of Sheffield’s Rothman spoke about the bigger picture and the role different types of hydrogen might play. Could we ever see a time when the level of blue and grey hydrogen drops to zero?
“It depends how long a timeframe you’re looking at,” she said, adding that “in an ideal world, they will eventually drop very low.”
“Ultimately, we ideally get rid of all of our grey hydrogen, because grey hydrogen has a large carbon footprint and we need to get rid of it,” Rothman said.
“As we improve carbon capture and storage, there may be a space for blue hydrogen and that’s yet to be evaluated, depending on the … developments there.”
“The pink and green we know there has to be a space for because that’s where you really get the low carbon [hydrogen], and we know it should be, it’s possible to get there.”
Fiona Rayment, chief scientist at the UK National Nuclear Laboratory — which, like EDF Energy, is a member of trade association Hydrogen UK — pressed home the importance of having a range of options available in the years ahead.
“The challenge of net zero cannot be underestimated; we will need to embrace all sources of low carbon hydrogen generation to replace our reliance on fossil fuels,” she told CNBC.
While there has been a lot of talk about using colors to differentiate the various methods of hydrogen production, there is also a lively discussion about whether such a classification system should even exist at all.
“What we want is low carbon hydrogen,” Rothman said. “And I know there is a lot of confusion about the various colors, and I’ve heard some people say … ‘why do we even have the colors, why do we not just have hydrogen and low carbon hydrogen?'”
“And ultimately, it’s the low carbon bit that’s important, and both pink and green would do that.”
A view of offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the Pacific Ocean on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Oil prices jumped on Friday as the U.S. Treasury Department announced sweeping sanctions against Russia’s oil industry.
Brent gained $1.92, or 2.5%, to $78.84 per barrel by 11:12 a.m. ET, while U.S. crude oil advanced $1.89, or 2.56%, to $75.81 per barrel. Brent broke $80 per barrel for the first time since October earlier in day, hitting a session high of $80.75.
The sanctions target Russian oil companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas and their subsidiaries, more than 180 tankers, and more than a dozen Russian energy officials and executives. The sanctioned executives include Gazprom Neft CEO Aleksandr Valeryevich Dyukov.
The sanctioned vessels are mostly oil tankers that are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that has dodged existing sanctions on the country’s energy exports, according to the Treasury Department.
“The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia’s key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
Brent crude futures, 1 year
“With today’s actions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports,” Yellen said.
The perception in the oil market is Indian and Chinese refiners that have imported Russian oil will have to scramble for barrels from the Middle East, said Bob Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities, in a note to clients Friday.
The Biden administration has sought to ratchet up pressure on Russia and dispense aid to Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
“The Biden administration opted for more robust energy sanctions, which caught the oil market especially complacent about sanctions risks,” said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group.
“Therefore, we expect today’s material risk premium in Brent to stick pending signals from the Trump team as to whether they will continue these sanctions,” McNally said.
Hydrostor’s GEM A-CAES has received a conditional loan guarantee of up to $1.76 billion from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to build the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center, a cutting-edge compressed air energy storage (CAES) system, in Eastern Kern County, California.
If everything goes as planned, Willow Rock will bring 500 megawatts (MW) and 4,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of long-duration energy storage (LDES) to the southern California power grid.
This system will lower energy costs, improve grid reliability during peak demand, and expand the rollout of renewable energy into the grid. Here’s how it works and why it’s unique.
How compressed air energy storage works
CAES technology is all about storing energy for later use, especially when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Here’s how it works:
- Storing energy: The system takes surplus energy (often from renewable sources like solar or wind) and uses it to compress air, which is stored in underground caverns.
- Releasing energy: When the grid needs power, the compressed air is released, passing through a turbine to generate electricity. Willow Rock will be able to dispatch stored energy at full power for over eight-hour periods.
Unlike conventional batteries, CAES can scale up based on the size of the storage cavern and doesn’t rely on scarce critical materials. It’s durable, too –systems like Willow Rock are designed to last over 50 years.
Why advanced CAES is different
Traditional CAES systems face two big challenges: wasted heat and inconsistent power output. Willow Rock’s advanced compressed air energy storage system (A-CAES) technology solves these problems:
- Thermal energy capture: Conventional CAES loses around 50% of energy during the air compression process. Willow Rock pairs a proprietary thermal storage system with this process, so it captures, stores, and reuses heat from the compression cycle.
- Constant Pressure: Traditional systems lose efficiency as underground air pressure drops. Willow Rock maintains consistent pressure by using water from an above-ground reservoir. As a bonus, the facility will be a net producer of fresh water, as water condensed during the compression process will be captured and reused.
This innovative design means A-CAES systems can be installed in a greater variety of underground conditions – an estimated 80% of US geology could support similar systems, opening the door for wide deployment.
Willow Rock will create up to 700 construction jobs at its peak, and 40 full-time operations roles will follow. These positions require skills similar to those used in the oil and gas industry, making it a natural fit for Kern County, a region with roots in fossil fuel production.
GEM A-CAES is a subsidiary of Hydrostor USA Holdings, a subsidiary of Hydrostor of Canada.
Read more: The world’s highest solar + storage project is online in Tibet
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Chinese EV automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) has unveiled its ATTO 2 compact SUV to the European public. The launch, which took place at the Brussels Motor Show, kicks off BYD’s next EV entry into European and UK markets. The BYD ATTO 2 is smaller and more affordable than its SUV siblings, with a decent range to boot, perfect for European roads.
The ATTO 2 is a rebranded version of the Chinese EV automaker BYD’s Yuan Up – an ultra-affordable compact SUV that debuted in China in February 2024. BYD may not be bringing “Yuan” branded EVs over to new markets in Europe, but that lineup continues to grow each month.
BYD currently sells four all-electric models in the UK and seven in Europe, including the ATTO 3 SUV. Today, BYD debuted a rebranded version of the Yuan Up called the ATTO 2, which will go on sale to customers in the UK and Europe next month.
BYD unveils ATTO 2 in Brussels, sales begin in February
The Brussels Motor Show recently kicked off as the first major automotive expo in Europe in 2025, and BYD showed up with a new affordable BEV option to complement the ATTO 3. Per BYD executive vice president Stella Li:
We’re excited to start 2025 with another important model for our plans in Europe. The B-segment SUV class is incredibly popular here, and with the ATTO 2, we have an agile and versatile offering that will appeal to that large potential customer base. It takes all of BYD’s strengths in batteries, electric motors and Cell-to-Body construction and combines them in a compact package that brings new intelligent technologies to the urban SUV class.
The ATTO 2 is 4,310mm long, 1,830mm wide, and 1,675mm tall—145mm shorter and 45mm slimmer than its ATTO 3 sibling. Despite its compact size, the ATTO 2 offers up to 1,430 liters of cargo capacity with its rear seat down.
The ATTO 2 also sits atop BYD’s e-Platform 3.0, the first of the brand’s compact SUVs to utilize Cell-to-Body (CTB) construction, which integrates the battery completely into the vehicle chassis—this design results in optimized space and overall increased vehicle rigidity.
Speaking of batteries, the EU and UK customers who opt for an ATTO 2 can experience BYD’s proprietary Blade Batteries, which integrates LFP cells directly instead of fitting them into multiple modules. BYD says customers can choose between two battery sizes in their ATTO 2 order. At launch, a standard range edition will utilize a 45.1 kWh Blade Battery, delivering a (WLTP) 312 km (194 miles) range.
However, BYD said a larger-battery version of the ATTO 2 will arrive in the coming months and offer drivers greater range. The automaker is not yet sharing individual pricing for the ATTO 2 in the UK or Europe. Still, a representative for the company said the compact SUV is expected to land between the BYD Dolphin and ATTO 3 BEVs, which in the UK cost 26,140 GBP ($32,157) and 37,140 GBP ($45,689) respectively.
ATTO 2 sales are expected to begin in February.
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