Is hydrogen renewable

Answer 1

Hydrogen is renewable in the sense that the fossil fuels we use are hydrocarbon compounds. When we burn them, the hydrogen is liberated in the form of water vapors or hydrogen compounds. These vapors then mix with various gases in the atmosphere to form other compounds like nitric acid, etc. It then comes down with the rain and is deposited on the earth. It thus stays in the system only. Unlike fossil fuels, the hydrogen can be extracted whenever required (fossil fuels need millions of years to produce). Hence hydrogen is considered renewable.

At the same time, the energy required to separate hydrogen from the compounds it is a part of often comes from nonrenewable sources, including fossil fuels. Hydrogen does not exist in its elemental state naturally, it is almost always found in compounds like water, so the compound must be broken up by electrolysis or some other means, which requires energy. Research into solar powered electrolysis and hydroelectric powered electrolysis has been done, but it's not yet viable on a large scale.

Hydrogen has been produced on a large scale by steam methane reforming. This is not renewable because it involves using methane (a fossil fuel) and getting it to incredibly high temperatures by using more fossil fuels. In some cases around 70% of the gasses produced were not hydrogen but carbon based compounds.