Cracking Hydrogen's Potential: Harnessing Ammonia for Breakthroughs in Cost, Energy, and Scalability

Hydrogen is becoming a vital fuel source in the global energy economy, helping utilities and industries lower emissions while supporting a more reliable power grid. The global hydrogen economy is projected to grow by 400 billion by 2034. Hydrogen (H 2) is attractive in part for its versatility; with fuel cells and microgrids, it can store surplus renewable energy generated, such as that from wind and solar, and feed that power back into the grid during system peaks or when generation goes offline. Grid operators across the US routinely call on peaking plants (units that can start quickly but burn more fuel per unit of electricity) during high‐demand events to avoid blackouts. As of 2021, most of the approximately 999 peaking plants in the US were powered by fossil fuels, demonstrating the importance of peaking capacity to system reliability. The addition of cleaner backup power options through hydrogen solutions creates a compelling business case, which combines environmental benefits with the potential for long‐term cost savings.