Hydrogen is “the most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk to the Financial Times.
“It does not naturally occur on Earth, so you either have to split water with electrolysis or crack hydrocarbons.”
Lithium in its pure form also doesn’t occur naturally on Earth, but Musk didn’t address the discrepancy.
Still, Musk’s statement is correct: hydrogen doesn’t occur naturally on Earth. So, while hydrogen is the most abundant element on Earth, it must be split from other elements to obtain its pure form.
Moreover, producing green hydrogen (meaning hydrogen produced through electrolysis with renewable energy) is expensive, costing between $3.73/kg to $6.50kg in the United States, according to the latest figures from analyst S&P Global Platts….