Hydrogen is a clean-burning fuel. It is made by removing all the carbon from fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas Heating a fossil fuel to a high temperature and pressure turns it into a gas. This gas then goes through a clean-up process to remove substances such as sulphur. After the clean-up, the two remaining gases – hydrogen and carbon dioxide – are separated, by stripping the carbon from the hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen is burned in a specially modified gas turbine to make electricity. The main by-product of burning hydrogen is pure water. The carbon dioxide is compressed and transported through a pipeline – and then injected deep underground into the depleted oil and gas fields or coal beds, where it is stored safely and permanently. When the carbon dioxide is injected into the reservoirs, it can help to flush out reserves of oil or gas that would otherwise be left behind. Doing this can extend the life of a field by many years – and produce many millions of barrels of extra oil or gas.
