"Hydrogen holds promise as a clean, low-carbon fuel (see, for example, go.nature.com/3arm2nq). But under current plans — including those in the United Kingdom’s sixth carbon budget (see go.nature.com/3hjkgvp) — the gas would be mostly burnt in engines and boilers rather than being used in fuel cells. The burning of hydrogen generates toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) as well as steam (Y. B. Zel’dovich Acta Physicochimica URSS 11, 577–628; 1946). This pollution could disproportionately impact the urban poor.
Reducing nitrogen-oxide emissions from hydrogen boilers and engines is possible. But there is often a trade-off with fuel efficiency or with cost, because of the need for exhaust-gas after-treatment equipment. By the 2040s, hydrogen combustion for domestic heating could be the last major source of NOx in cities, as ever more road vehicles switch to electric power.
Nitrogen-oxide emissions from hydrogen boilers will be concentrated in areas of high-density housing, often associated with low-income households. A widening of inequality in exposure to NO2 could be an unwelcome side effect of this net-zero policy without new regulation and innovation in after-treatment technologies." [1]
1. Nature 595, 353 (2021)
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