The Truth Behind Hydrogen’s Big Promise – What Went Wrong and What Comes Next

In this episode of The Hydrogen Podcast, we unpack the Forbes article “What Happened to the Hydrogen Economy?” by Robert Rapier and break down the five reasons hydrogen hasn’t revolutionized the energy sector—yet. From the broken promises of Bush-era policy to the economics of modern hydrogen production, we explore what went wrong, and more importantly, what’s next. We spotlight low-cost, low-carbon intensity (CI) hydrogen production methods—steam methane reforming (SMR) with carbon capture, natural hydrogen, and methane pyrolysis—that could finally build a demand-driven U.S. hydrogen economy. We also reveal why the repeal of the Section 45V tax credit might actually push the industry forward and how the Midwest could emerge as the next hydrogen hub by powering ammonia production with natural hydrogen at $0.50–$1/kg. 📊 All data sourced from the U.S. DOE, IEA, and BloombergNEF. 🎧 Listen now to learn:The 5 biggest roadblocks hydrogen still facesHow H.R.1 shifts U.S. hydrogen strategyWhat production methods can scale economicallyWhy the Corn Belt may become a clean energy giant Subscribe and leave a review if this helped you understand the hydrogen transition better! #HydrogenPodcast #HydrogenEconomy #CleanHydrogen #NaturalHydrogen #MethanePyrolysis #SMRwithCCS #EnergyPolicy #Section45V #HydrogenProduction #MidwestHydrogen #Ammonia #Decarbonization #HydrogenNews #RobertRapier #EnergyTransition Support the show