Universal Hydrogen Completes First Flight of Hydrogen Regional Airliner
Yesterday something remarkable happened. Universal Hydrogen Co. flew a 40-passenger regional airliner using hydrogen fuel cell propulsion for 15 minutes. The airplane, nicknamed Lightning McClean, reached an altitude of 3,500 feet. Universal Hydrogen converts existing aircraft to use hydrogen fuel cells. It’s an innovative approach and (from our perspective) holds the most promise of (eventually, in many years) replacing jet fuel. Fuel cell technology cuts out huge batteries, which are impractical in airplanes.
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A University of Alberta (Canada) mechanical engineer and his team published a study last month in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews on the greenhouse gas reduction potential of blending natural gas with hydrogen in Alberta, Canada (full copy below). Albertans can replace 15-20% of the natural gas in their pipes and furnaces with hydrogen using current technology and current pipeline infrastructure. The team found that a 15% hydrogen/methane blend would cut–at most–5% off of Alberta’s carbon footprint by 2050. A nothingburger. But here’s the kicker: Blending hydrogen with methane results in higher average energy prices. Higher prices, no environmental advantages. Tell us again why we want to blend explosive hydrogen with methane in our pipelines?
We spotted a fascinating story out of Los Angeles about the city’s foolish and reckless action in abandoning its largest natural gas-fired power generation plant in favor of using hydrogen instead. Hydrogen is the Holy Grail for the left. At least, for some on the left. Many on the left (and, it seems, on the right too) want to replace natural gas with 100% hydrogen in gas-fired power plants because natgas produces carbon dioxide when it burns, and hydrogen does not. Except (we learned from this article), hydrogen power generation has one huge, glaring, problem…
“May the odds be ever in your favor.” – Hunger Games. For more than a year, we have covered the topic of the Bidenistas’ Hunger Games contest to award $7 billion to some 6-10 “hydrogen hubs” across the country. Each winning hub will receive $500 million to $1 billion of government largesse to help build a hub in a given region. The money for the hub projects was allocated as part of the so-called Infrastructure bill, passed in November 2021 (see 
Joe Biden has big plans to force you to change the way you get (and consume) your energy. He wants you to use hydrogen, electricity (generated by unreliable renewable sources like wind and solar), force you to capture your carbon dioxide (the stuff you breathe out with every breath you take), and in general, use anything other than fossil energy. Joe is happy to export LNG (a nasty fossil fuel), but only because other people will use it and not you. There’s one big problem with making Joe’s dystopian future a reality: The government bureaucracy and red tape that it spins, is preventing his preferred sources of energy from getting built and used. Isn’t it delicious? The very bureaucracy the left loves and adores is strangling the left’s attempts at the forced conversion of society to alternative energy.
We spotted an interesting article that says hydrogen (and its derivatives, including ammonia and methanol) are “tilting toward export markets” and that there is a link between hydrogen exports and the production of natural gas. Yeah, we didn’t know that hydrogen is getting exported, either. And while we know that 95% of all hydrogen today comes from cracking natural gas, we didn’t know there is a “link” between hydrogen exports and natgas production. We were intrigued…
Yesterday we told you that the Pennsylvania-blessed effort by Shell and Equinor to build (at taxpayers’ expense) a so-called hydrogen hub in PA has received the Dept. of Energy’s blessing (“encouragement”) to submit a full application (see 
Last November, the state of Pennsylvania decided to endorse a private industry application (by Shell and Equinor) instead of doing the hard work of submitting its own official application to attract a $1 billion hydrogen hub (see 
West Virginia is taking the lead in a coalition to apply for (and build) a regional hydrogen hub, funded by taxpayers as provided for in the so-called Biden infrastructure bill. Some 200 organizations (universities, businesses, trade associations, etc.) have joined the WV effort, called Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), including the State of Ohio (see 
Given our stories today about hydrogen hubs, it seems like a good time to revisit the topic of “what is a hydrogen hub,” a “clean hub,” and what do all of the supposed colors of hydrogen that are thrown around really mean? Energywire recently published an article that answers five questions about “clean” hydrogen. The author says hydrogen’s uses, merits, and drawbacks as a climate tool remain “opaque” to some, including much of the public. Let’s clear up some of the opaqueness, shall we?
It’s that time of year. Typically at the end of a year, or the very beginning of a new year, publications will pontificate on what they predict will happen in the coming 12 months. We’ve seen a number of such articles about the energy space, including some predictions targeted specifically for the Marcellus/Utica. We’ve selected three such articles to share with you–all of them from authors and publications we highly respect.
The great energy savior many on the left (and the right) are pushing is hydrogen. Never mind that hydrogen is extremely explosive (far more so than natural gas). And never mind that hydrogen is leaky (far more than natural gas because it’s lighter). Hydrogen’s chief advantage is that when it burns, it does not create carbon dioxide–the stuff you breathe out with every breath your take. Some utility companies have conducted small experiments to blend in 5-10% of hydrogen with natural gas to see how it goes. Will stoves and furnaces work OK with hydrogen blended? The Brits aren’t bothering with an incremental approach. They have selected and will FORCE some 2,000 homes in northwest England to convert to 100% hydrogen. No frittering around with half-measures and blending. People in the target village are using terms like “guinea pigs” and “lab rats” to describe their forced conversion to hydrogen.
Hydrogen energy is the new savior that will keep the world from toasting itself out of existence. So goes the current faddish meme. But not just any old hydrogen (or H2) can be used. No, no, no! Hydrogen has to be “low carbon” hydrogen (i.e. produced by means that is low or no-carbon), or it is persona non grata. It reminds us of when “low fat” was all the rage in diets–until it wasn’t. But we digress… The Open Hydrogen Initiative (OHI) was convened earlier this year to measure and map the emissions footprint of “clean” (low or no-CO2) hydrogen. Earlier this week, a number of prominent energy companies joined OHI, including EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. (focused 100% on the Marcellus/Utica).