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The Hydrogen Revolution
A Financial Times BEST BOOKS OF 2021'Engaging, authoritative and very timely. Marco Alverà spells Hydrogen's critical role as an energy store in the clean power transition' - Mike Berners-Lee, author of THERE IS NO PLANET BPicture It's 2050. The looming shadow of climate change is finally receding. The planet's temperature is stabilising. Rainforests and coral reefs beginning to thrive once more. We are returning to equilibrium with nature.This isn't wishful thinking; it can be our reality. We just need to embrace the missing link.The beauty of hydrogen is its simplicity. It's simple to make, and simple to use. You are essentially bottling sunlight from renewable energy sources in the form of hydrogen, and using it to bring clean energy to every corner of the globe. The best part about hydrogen is that when you use it, the only by-product is water.As energy expert Marco Alverà explains, if we're going to heal the climate, we need to start thinking big. This book is the blueprint for how to get us there. Whether you are a policy maker, a business person, an activist, or simply curious, the message is there is hope, for us and our planet. Hydrogen can help save the world.
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Published August 31, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 16, 2023
Solid intro into hydrogen tech and sufficient intro to the economics of a green revolution. Bias author, CEO of a gas company but well written and performed.
August 19, 2025
A fantastic book. Very well written and researched. Learned a lot and grateful to the author for his efforts.
May 28, 2023
It's very repetitive, but some good information in there. A summary of the book would do just as well
April 30, 2023
This book by SNAM CEO Marco Alverà outlines the importance of hydrogen for the globe to reach its net zero emission targets. The books starts by introducing the reader to hydrogen as a power source as well as it importance in chemical and fertilizer industries. It gives a quick overview of how hydrogen can be made with electrolysers, and how it can be turned back into power using fuel cells.
The reader gets introduced to the different types of hydrogen, grey (from fossil fuels), blue (from natural gas), green (from renewable sources), turquoise (blue with carbon capture), and pink (from nuclear energy. Here blue and grey are good immediate term alternatives, but to reach net 0 gree needs to become dominant.
In essence, hydrogen will see use cases where electricity is not viable. This will be the case for storing energy and responding to energy demand surges, as battery storage will be wildly expensive for this. Furthermore uses like heating, trucking and transport, is mentioned. Going into the future we might see it used in aviation, steelmaking (as some companies are currently trying), and rocketry.
The end of the book outlines how the transition to hydrogen could happen, and what is needed to make this happen. The key takeaway from this part is that we need to make hydrogen sufficiently cheap for some initial sectors to adapt it, so that the industry can utilise economies of scale to drive down the price per kg hydrogen to around 2$, which is a pivot point which can leave to mass adoption across several sectors. The time window until 2030, when several European steel mills need to be switched out is also highlighted as an important opportunity to encourage the switch from coke to hydrogen reduction in the steel industry to make it greener.
The book gives a good introduction to hydrogen, future use cases and how to get there, but it never really digs deep in a textbook kind of way. IN essence it is useful for understanding the hype around and future use cases of hydrogen, and though it outlines the technical challenges that need to be overcome, it doesn't explain in detail how to solve these from an engineering point of view, but rather focusing on the economics.
The reader gets introduced to the different types of hydrogen, grey (from fossil fuels), blue (from natural gas), green (from renewable sources), turquoise (blue with carbon capture), and pink (from nuclear energy. Here blue and grey are good immediate term alternatives, but to reach net 0 gree needs to become dominant.
In essence, hydrogen will see use cases where electricity is not viable. This will be the case for storing energy and responding to energy demand surges, as battery storage will be wildly expensive for this. Furthermore uses like heating, trucking and transport, is mentioned. Going into the future we might see it used in aviation, steelmaking (as some companies are currently trying), and rocketry.
The end of the book outlines how the transition to hydrogen could happen, and what is needed to make this happen. The key takeaway from this part is that we need to make hydrogen sufficiently cheap for some initial sectors to adapt it, so that the industry can utilise economies of scale to drive down the price per kg hydrogen to around 2$, which is a pivot point which can leave to mass adoption across several sectors. The time window until 2030, when several European steel mills need to be switched out is also highlighted as an important opportunity to encourage the switch from coke to hydrogen reduction in the steel industry to make it greener.
The book gives a good introduction to hydrogen, future use cases and how to get there, but it never really digs deep in a textbook kind of way. IN essence it is useful for understanding the hype around and future use cases of hydrogen, and though it outlines the technical challenges that need to be overcome, it doesn't explain in detail how to solve these from an engineering point of view, but rather focusing on the economics.
May 26, 2022
Great book....Hydrogen is our saviour
A futuristic book .....with many revelations, thoughts and ideas to build a sustainable energy future with net zero.
Its a great book for energy/climate enthusiats and even for entrepreneurs, as Hydrogen is the future.
Hydrogen was used for power almost a century ago but it has again caught the limelight and appears to be the only promising option to replace fossil fuels considering the limitations of other renewable resources like solar, wind, etc.
The author has compiled all the efforts put up by european countries in Hydrogen space including initiatives with promising results like blending of natural gas with Hydrogen upto 20% and use in existing infrastructure, this is a big step towards Hydrogen ecosystem.
He has covered all the sectors wherein Hydrogen can be used which introduces altogether a very different and new world of opportunities to reader. The figures and estimation based on facts or the data / studies of renowned agencies like IRENA, etc are mesmerizing and it again proves that Hydrogen ecosystem is not just a far fetched dream but a reality very close to us.
Many countries / organizations have already adopted and implemented Hydrogen in their economy and its an inspiration for our country India to progress fast to become Hydrogen hub ....a target set by leaders.
A worth read......!!!
A futuristic book .....with many revelations, thoughts and ideas to build a sustainable energy future with net zero.
Its a great book for energy/climate enthusiats and even for entrepreneurs, as Hydrogen is the future.
Hydrogen was used for power almost a century ago but it has again caught the limelight and appears to be the only promising option to replace fossil fuels considering the limitations of other renewable resources like solar, wind, etc.
The author has compiled all the efforts put up by european countries in Hydrogen space including initiatives with promising results like blending of natural gas with Hydrogen upto 20% and use in existing infrastructure, this is a big step towards Hydrogen ecosystem.
He has covered all the sectors wherein Hydrogen can be used which introduces altogether a very different and new world of opportunities to reader. The figures and estimation based on facts or the data / studies of renowned agencies like IRENA, etc are mesmerizing and it again proves that Hydrogen ecosystem is not just a far fetched dream but a reality very close to us.
Many countries / organizations have already adopted and implemented Hydrogen in their economy and its an inspiration for our country India to progress fast to become Hydrogen hub ....a target set by leaders.
A worth read......!!!
December 26, 2022
Hydrogen is poised to play an important role in our energy mix. But what makes hydrogen an intriguing energy source? According to Marco Alvera, the whole hydrogen infrastructure occupies the role of a battery. Energy from fossil fuels, solar or nuclear can be used to isolate hydrogen from water with an electrolyser. Hydrogen, in either liquid or gas state, can be transported to places that need energy the most. With a fuel cell(a reverse electrolyser), hydrogen can then be converted back to energy/electricity, with water as a byproduct. Since it can be used to store excess energy, it appears that hydrogen could potentially solve the seasonality issue of our energy demand. This book is a great primer to anyone who would like to understand how hydrogen could potentially reshape the global energy landscape and how it might help us meet our net zero targets.
June 5, 2022
A thorough analysis of the possibilities of hydrogen to fuel the clean energy future. Interesting perspective from a CEO of an energy company can sometimes make this book very ambitious, given the hydrogen revolution hasn't even started yet.
The book gives ample consideration to the factors constraining hydrogen deployment and application in developed economies. However, from reading between the lines it seems that a switch to hydrogen would be difficult in developing countries, save a few applications. It is clear that to make hydrogen a central source of energy for transport, heating and electricity there is large-scale policy intervention, incentives and investment required - this book does an excellent job of framing what they might look like.
The book gives ample consideration to the factors constraining hydrogen deployment and application in developed economies. However, from reading between the lines it seems that a switch to hydrogen would be difficult in developing countries, save a few applications. It is clear that to make hydrogen a central source of energy for transport, heating and electricity there is large-scale policy intervention, incentives and investment required - this book does an excellent job of framing what they might look like.
December 30, 2022
I brought this book while touring around England and Wales because I realized I knew nothing about hydrogen or its uses to reach zero missions (and you see London buses that say Hydrogen powered every day, so what did that mean?) After purchasing the book, a fellow tour member attempted to tell me hydrogen was bad. He's not wrong but he's also not right since I now know there are different types of hydrogen based on how it's produced and there is a clean hydrogen. The capabilities of hydrogen are extraordinary. We just need to continue embracing and advocating for it as we already have infrastructure available to start using it in smaller quantities until we are ready to fully deploy hydrogen to replace other sources such as natural gas.
June 23, 2024
This book is very important, I feel that when I say 'everyone must read this book'.It is an understatement.
It helps enlighten down a pathway of what a world could be like under the production of clean green hydrogen.
This change has many challenges, but is on the cusp of happening in my lifetime.
I am excited and feel hopeful at this prospect.It also helps debunk any concerns about the safety of hydrogen.It outlines that hydrogen is often made in much safer conditions/practices than today's conventional fuels.
The future is green, the future is hydrogen.
It helps enlighten down a pathway of what a world could be like under the production of clean green hydrogen.
This change has many challenges, but is on the cusp of happening in my lifetime.
I am excited and feel hopeful at this prospect.It also helps debunk any concerns about the safety of hydrogen.It outlines that hydrogen is often made in much safer conditions/practices than today's conventional fuels.
The future is green, the future is hydrogen.
August 17, 2025
Kind of reads like an advertisement for potential shareholders (which I think might be part of the intention tbh), but there is some good information in here. The main issue is that I think this information changes so quickly that this book is already out of date. Every time Russia and the US are mentioned makes that clear, but so are all the dates that things could happen by/were supposedly set to happen. That’s not really the authors fault obviously, but I would recommend looking for more current information and analysis. That’s my next step.
November 28, 2022
Endiseye sebep olacak seye bakmak zordur. Hidrojen gelecegimizin kurtaricisi mi bilinmez. Is hayatimda musterim olan dev dogal gaz dagitim sirketinin hidrojen danismaninin kitabini bulmam da buyuk sans oldu. Bazen teknik detaylar anlasilmaz gelebilir ama cok uzerinde durup konuyu dagitmiyor. Konu cok onemli cunku…kesinlikle tavsiye ederim…
October 3, 2021
Finally a reason to act together WORLD!!
Well argued, simple enough for me, the common man, to understand and exciting to believe there is a solution for this world, doable in my lifetime and I'm
Well argued, simple enough for me, the common man, to understand and exciting to believe there is a solution for this world, doable in my lifetime and I'm
February 15, 2023
The argument for the use of hydrogen does have a lot of validity, however, the data used in the book is not necessarily reflective of the countries & areas of use. Interesting, but repetitive and does offer a full consideration of the alternative issues.
January 26, 2024
Interesting take on how hydrogen can change the world. Seems a bit optimistic on how fast all of this can be applied and feasibility of all the technological applications though. But maybe the author is right and I am too much pessimistic.
December 4, 2021
4.5 stars. Realistic, balanced and optimistic view of the future energy mix.
January 27, 2022
Easy to read fast, easy to comprehend fast. No doubts hydrogen will take a space in our future energy mix. To what extent and for exactly what purposes we don't know yet but it's coming.
February 9, 2022
Vale muito a leitura.
Leia rápido, é uma área que terá muitas mudanças nos próximos anos.
Leia rápido, é uma área que terá muitas mudanças nos próximos anos.
December 26, 2022
The subject was interesting but the book was not interesting to read. I skimmed the book and looked for some interesting parts.
April 17, 2023
A absolute must read for anyone wanting to know more about green hydrogen.
April 29, 2025
One of the clearest, best-written books about hydrogen - its potential, its barriers, and its costs - I’ve read
August 9, 2023
For how complicated the topic of Hydrogen Energy could get, Marco Alvera makes it easy to understand and actually fun to read with interesting facts and recent industry developments. Read this book if you want to understand what hydrogen energy is, how it's made and how it can potentially help with sustainable living in the future. It's a little on the optimistic side though and I wish he had discussed more about the challenges/limitations of hydrogen energy.
April 7, 2023
Written by an Italian business men and CEO of TES-H2 (while writing the book he was CEO of Snam), this book shows why hydrogen can fight climate change and become the fuel of the future. In this book, he brings scientific, financial, and ethical context to hydrogen and climate change.
Whether you have a background in renewables or are new to climate science, this book breaks down the current state of the environment and sees the way to the future with very exciting possibilities that seem very attainable.
Whether you have a background in renewables or are new to climate science, this book breaks down the current state of the environment and sees the way to the future with very exciting possibilities that seem very attainable.
March 23, 2023
Really good review of what needs to be done to bridge the gap for the hydrogen industry
Updated: reduced to 3 stars. Alot of Repetition
Updated: reduced to 3 stars. Alot of Repetition
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews