Hydrogen can do a lot, but not everything
Hydrogen is supposed to heat houses, power cars and save industry. That sounds like a simple solution to a complex problem. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research has now evaluated more than 100 studies and the result is clear: hydrogen is not a panacea, but a targeted tool. Those who use it incorrectly are wasting resources and time.
The Fraunhofer ISI analyzed 774 individual statements as part of a meta-fact check and condensed them into 77 core statements. The result was not a new opinion paper, but a synthesis of the current state of knowledge. The result is nuanced, but the key points are unambiguous. Lead author Nils Bittner puts it in a nutshell: hydrogen can have an enormous impact where there are no equivalent alternatives. Where such alternatives do exist, its use costs valuable resources and time.
The efficiency bottleneck
The basic problem lies in physics. Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis. Depending on the process, this requires around 50 to 60 kWh of electricity per kilogram. Compression, transportation and reconversion swallow up further energy. In the end, often only a fraction of the kilowatt hours originally used remain. Heat pumps and battery-powered vehicles therefore use the same electricity many times more efficiently.
Where H₂ remains indispensable
Nevertheless, there are areas in which hydrogen has no viable alternative. The steel industry needs it to reduce iron ore, the chemical industry as a raw material for ammonia and methanol. Aviation, shipping and heavy goods transport can hardly be directly electrified. Hydrogen is the fuel of choice here. There is also currently no comparable alternative for the seasonal long-term storage of energy over weeks and months. In Switzerland, this assessment is in line with the federal government’s hydrogen strategy, which envisages H₂ primarily for high-temperature process heat and transport sectors that are difficult to decarbonize.
The chicken-and-egg problem is slowing down the ramp-up
A functioning hydrogen economy requires infrastructure such as pipelines, cavern storage facilities and electrolysis plants. However, companies only invest when the supply is secured and network operators only build when there is sufficient demand. This chicken-and-egg problem is slowing down the market ramp-up considerably. The Fraunhofer ISI therefore recommends concentrating on industrial clusters instead of a nationwide network extending into residential areas.
Imports only solve half the problem
Germany will have to import up to 80 percent of its hydrogen requirements. Transportation over long distances usually requires conversion into ammonia or liquid hydrogen, with further energy losses. This creates new global supply chains instead of fossil dependencies. Switzerland will not become self-sufficient in hydrogen either. The cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft adopted a joint hydrogen strategy for the first time in February 2026 and calculate a demand of 0.4 to 3.4 percent of total energy requirements for 2050, concentrated on industry and heavy goods vehicles.