Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

Why There'll Never Be A Hydrogen Economy | Ep232: Erik Rakhou

29 snips

Nov 5, 2025

Guest

Erik Rakhou

Guest

Andrew Critchlow

In this engaging discussion, hydrogen advocate Erik Rakhou, author of Touching Hydrogen's Future, faces off against S&P Global's Andrew Critchlow. They dive into whether hydrogen is a miracle fuel or an expensive illusion, exploring its potential for industrial decarbonization. Topics range from the challenges of hydrogen economics and its practical applications to the intricacies of the global ammonia trade and regional competitiveness. The debate also touches on the role of electrification versus hydrogen for a sustainable future.

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ANECDOTE

Aramco Invited Him To Debate Hydrogen

Erik described being invited by Aramco to a workshop debating whether hydrogen will happen.
He noted major oil companies watch hydrogen because peak oil and petrochemicals/aviation remain strategic concerns.

INSIGHT

Spikes Didn’t Make Hydrogen Competitive

Even during Europe’s gas-price spike, green hydrogen costs stayed far above competitive levels.
Liebreich uses TTF-derived equivalents to show hydrogen remained uneconomic even at peak prices.

INSIGHT

ESAF Drives Major Flight-Cost Inflation

Green aviation fuel (ESAF) can be many times more expensive than fossil jet fuel, causing significant cost inflation when blended.
Liebreich cites EU numbers showing ESAF can be ~12x fossil jet fuel, implying large price impacts.

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Is green hydrogen a ‘miracle fuel’ or an expensive illusion? Can we decarbonize without it? And what happens when hydrogen hype meets hard economics?

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich debates Erik Rakhou, author of Touching Hydrogen Future, in a no-holds-barred discussion moderated by Andrew Critchlow of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Together, they contest one of the most contentious topics in energy today: hydrogen. Liebreich argues that hydrogen is plagued by physics-driven cost barriers and limited real-world applications, while Rakhou defends its potential as a critical tool for industrial decarbonization, energy resilience, and long-term security.

From the potential of green vs. blue hydrogen, to global ammonia trade routes, Europe’s pipeline ambitions, and China’s hydrogen cost curve, this debate pulls no punches.

Topics include:

Whether there’ll ever be a hydrogen-based economy
Why hydrogen economics remain so challenging
The role of carbon pricing vs. subsidies
e-Fuels and hydrogen’s place in transport, steel, and aviation
Why electrification trumps hydrogen

This episode was recorded at the S&P Global offices in London and originally broadcast as a S&P Global webinar on October 29, 2025. THanks to S&P Global and Andrew Critchlow for hosting the debate.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Read more:

Erik's website: https://rakhou.com
The EU’s hydrogen strategy: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/eus-energy-system/hydrogen_en
Data on EU natural gas prices 2010-2025: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1buQTdpQOMShue-zXyZUYVgZ9dPe5rZ5Y/view?usp=share_link
Michael Liebreich's Keynote Speech at World Hydrogen Congress 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj900aBPkiY
Erik’s book ‘Touching Hydrogen Futures’: https://europeangasmarket.eu
European Court of Auditors call for a hydrogen reality check: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/news/NEWS-SR-2024-11
Michael’s Pragmatic Climate Reset: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-the-pragmatic-climate-reset-part-i/