Bio-hydrogen in the Energy Transition: New OGEL article by HydGene CSO Professor Robert Willows

HydGene’s Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Robert Willows, has published a new article in the OGEL Energy Law Journal (Vol. 23, Issue 3), exploring the role bio-hydrogen can play in decarbonising today’s hydrogen supply.

Titled “Unleashing the Potential of Bio-hydrogen in the Energy Transition”, the article examines a central challenge facing the energy transition: while hydrogen demand continues to grow, more than 99% of hydrogen is still produced from fossil fuels, contributing materially to global CO₂ emissions.

“The challenge is not creating new hydrogen demand — it is replacing the hydrogen we already rely on with low-emissions alternatives.”

Rather than focusing on future or speculative hydrogen uses, the article emphasises the importance of replacing existing hydrogen demand in sectors such as fertiliser, chemicals, refining and steel — where hydrogen is already essential and difficult to electrify.

Key themes from the article include:

• Why hydrogen storage, transport and infrastructure remain major cost and deployment barriers

• How bio-hydrogen production using renewable biomass and waste streams can reduce emissions while supporting circular economy outcomes

• The role of synthetic biology in improving hydrogen production rates, yields and feedstock flexibility

• Why on-site, on-demand hydrogen generation can be more practical than centralised production for many industrial users

  
  

The article also discusses the technical, economic and regulatory challenges that must be addressed to move bio-hydrogen from pilots to commercial scale, including scale-up, cost competitiveness and GMO regulatory frameworks.

“Microorganisms already possess highly efficient enzyme systems capable of producing hydrogen at industrially relevant rates.”

This paper forms part of OGEL’s “Blue Sky Issues in the Energy Transition” special issue, bringing together Australian and international perspectives on structural challenges in the global energy system.

The full article is available via OGEL (subscription required). If you’d like to read the complete paper or discuss the work further, please contact the HydGene team.

OGEL link: https://www.ogel.org/article.asp?key=4182