Think of hydrogen as another type of battery, rather than an energy source. The issue is that it's not a very good battery. 

You start with electricity, you make hydrogen, you then use that hydrogen to make electricity again. Around one third of the energy you put in comes back out. This is not efficient and it also means hydrogen will be considerably more expensive than electricity for the customer. It’s better to just use the electricity in an electric machine or store it in a battery, if you can. 

There is potentially a role for hydrogen in heavy transport, steel and cement making etc where the advantages outweigh the inefficiencies, but even large mining operations are investing heavily in electric machines and many hydrogen trials have proven to be expensive and problematic.

Just as gas doesn’t need to play a role in our homes, hydrogen should not play a role in light vehicle transport. We don’t have a network of hydrogen stations, whereas we already have an electricity grid that spans most of the country and a growing number of solar installations where you can fill up your EV at home.

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Creating biogas from municipal waste or other waste streams is an interesting idea and a good example of a more circular economy, but so-called renewable gas is even more expensive than fossil gas and there's just not enough of it to make a dent. 

Some industries may need gas for a while as they transition to electric technologies, and we do use gas for electricity generation, but it is not a clean source of fuel, and it is certainly not renewable. A recently peer reviewed study has shown that it is even worse than coal for the climate due to its methane components, which is 80 times more potent than CO2 for warming. Gas definitely shouldn't be used in people's homes - it’s more expensive, it is running out, and burning it is bad for your health. Electric equivalents are more efficient, lower cost and much better for the environment. 

Around the world gas networks are shutting down because it’s clear the economics don’t stack up when compared to electricity. New houses should not be built with gas connections, because it locks families into decades of expensive, unhealthy gases in their home.

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