Analysis of the strategies for bridging the gap towards the Hydrogen Economy

The concept of “Hydrogen Economy” originated in the early 1970s as response to the first oil crisis. Consequently, its implementation needs a well-planned strategy adapted to the decay of the “Fossil Fuel Economy” allowing bridging the gap between both of them. This strategy must encompass Hydrogen production, distribution and utilization and should be built on solid grounds of established science and engineering. There is no doubt that hydrogen will play an important role in the future energy scenario but should not be thought to do so in terms of dominance but rather in competition and complementarity with other energy carriers. Therefore, the strategy for introduction should be planned not in terms of confrontation with the other energy vectors but in terms of convergence and synergies search. In this paper the current situation of the three main fields of the Hydrogen Economy: Production, Distribution and Uses are analyzed and some considerations and suggestions for action are provided.