Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen, if one

considers water not to be an emission. It often uses electrochemical cells,

or combustion in internal engines, to power vehicles and electric devices. It is
also used in the propulsion of spacecraft and might potentially be mass-
produced and commercialized for passenger vehicles and aircraft.
Hydrogen lies in the first group and first period in the periodic table, i.e. it is
the first element on the periodic table, making it the lightest element. Since
hydrogen gas is so light, it rises in the atmosphere and is therefore rarely
found in its pure form, H2.[1] In a flame of pure hydrogen gas, burning in air, the
hydrogen (H2) reacts with oxygen (O2) to form water (H2O) and releases
energy.
2H2(g) + O2(g) → 2H2O(g) + energy
If carried out in atmospheric air instead of pure oxygen, as is usually the
case, hydrogen combustion may yield small amounts of nitrogen oxides,
along with the water vapor.
The energy released enables hydrogen to act as a fuel. In an
electrochemical cell, that energy can be used with relatively high efficiency.
If it simply is used for heat, the usual thermodynamics limits on the thermal
efficiency apply.
Since there is very little free hydrogen gas, hydrogen is in practice only
an energy carrier, like electricity, not an energy resource.[2] Hydrogen gas
must be produced, and that production always requires more energy than
can be retrieved from the gas as a fuel later on.[3] This is a limitation of the
physical law of the conservation of energy. Most hydrogen production
induces environmental impacts.[3]
The hydrogen economy is a proposed system of delivering energy
using hydrogen. The term hydrogen economy was coined by John
Bockris during a talk he gave in 1970 at General Motors(GM) Technical
Center.[1] The concept was proposed earlier by geneticist J.B.S. Haldane.[2]
Proponents of a hydrogen economy advocate hydrogen as a potential fuel
for motive power[3](including cars and boats) and on-board auxiliary power,
stationary power generation (e.g., for the energy needs of buildings), and as
an energy storage medium (e.g., for interconversion from excess electric
power generated off-peak). Molecular hydrogen of the sort that can be used
as a fuel does not occur naturally in convenient reservoirs; nonetheless it can
be generated by steam reformation of hydrocarbons, water electrolysis or by
other methods.[4]
The spike in attention for the concept during the 2000s has been repeatedly
described as a hypeby critics, neutral observers and advocates of further
research and development.[5][6][7] Some small-scale initiatives from that period
are still trying to enable hydrogen-fuelled land transport. However, this
application faces many issues, given fundamentally low conversion
efficiencies and competition from other sources.[8][9]