Abstract
The chapter provides a wide-ranging look at prospects for ‘the hydrogen economy’ regarding fuel. In the European Union, hydrogen may be a means to address the intermittency of supply in the renewables sector. The US emphasis on hydrogen to operate motor vehicles contrasts with the EU’s broader climate change driven move to explore alternatives to fossil fuel. Regarding drivers of energy innovation, it is striking that the US introduction of hydrogen is specifically aimed at the transport sector and was driven by security of supply reasons rather than climate change. Further technological innovation is evident in that hydrogen can be injected into the natural gas grid or stored in dedicated reservoirs. In this regard, the chapter analyses the legal innovations required, by considering the impact on and interaction with the storage provisions of the EU Gas Directive and the proposed storage provision in the recast Electricity Directive.