Campaigners are demanding a rethink on £100 million plans to expand the development of hydrogen as an energy source, amid concerns it is inefficient and poses a risk to renewable sources.
SNP ministers say Scotland has the resources, the people and the ambition to become a world leader in hydrogen production.
However, a new report by Friends of the Earth Scotland found that it has low efficiency compared with other renewable sources such as electrification while “huge amounts” of renewable energy are required to produce it.
Around 80 per cent of current renewable energy supplies would be needed to create just five gigawatts (GW) of green hydrogen.
The report highlights that heat pumps are 168-342% more efficient than hydrogen boilers. Scientists have also warned that, far from being low-carbon, today’s hydrogen production is responsible for huge greenhouse gas emissions – around 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year.
Huge costs are also incurred from all of the extra conversion steps associated with electrolysis, reforming and gasifying and storage.
Although it is one of the most common elements in the universe, hydrogen does not exist naturally in a pure form that can be readily used and must be extracted from fossil fuels, biomass or water.
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As an energy vector, hydrogen is very flexible and can theoretically be used in a wide variety of applications beyond its current industrial uses, including domestic heating, power, aviation and shipping or fuel for buses and trains.
Blue hydrogen is made from fossil fuels but carbon dioxide emissions are captured, transported and stored (CCS).
It is most commonly used in the petrochemical and oil refining industries.
Green hydrogen is created by splitting water with electricity through a process called water electrolysis. Globally, electrolysis accounts for just 2% of hydrogen production.
The Scottish Government has set a target of producing 25GW in 2045 – the year it aims to be net zero – and plans a mixture of blue and green production.
The report – Hydrogen’s Role in Scotland’s Climate Journey – found that electric vehicles are more than twice as energy efficient than hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, while hydrogen boilers may be 53-68% more expensive than electric heat pumps
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Campaigners are calling on the Scottish Government to end any further public funding to hydrogen produced from fossil fuels and to prioritise electrification in crucial areas such as heating and transport.
Friends of the Earth Scotland climate campaigner Alex Lee said: “The evidence clearly shows that hydrogen is either made from climate-wrecking fossil fuels or it becomes a huge drain on renewable energy supplies.
“Whether it is in heating or transport, support for hydrogen looks like a losing bet when compared to direct electrification through technology like heat pumps and electric buses.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Both renewable and low-carbon hydrogen will play an increasingly important role in Scotland’s energy transition.
“Our priorities are to get as much renewable hydrogen into the energy system as quickly as possible, while supporting the establishment of low-carbon hydrogen production at scale in the 2020s, linked to carbon capture and storage.
“The Scottish Government is fully committed to helping the hydrogen sector develop and grow.
“We are investing £100m in renewable hydrogen projects over this parliament and, in addition to this, we have awarded £15m through our Energy Transition Fund to support the development of a Hydrogen Hub in Aberdeen and help the region be at the forefront of the energy sector’s net zero transformation.”
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