The path of most interest to many is Renewables -> bulk hydrogen as storage -> electricity grid.

The bulk storage method of interest is dissolved salt caverns: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47160599

yiyu_earth 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

While hydrogen fuel cell technology may not hold a distinct competitive advantage in the passenger vehicle market—where battery electric vehicles have achieved greater maturity in infrastructure and cost reduction—it retains significant merits in heavy-duty trucking and stationary power generation applications. This is particularly true when "grey hydrogen" (industrial by-product hydrogen derived from processes such as steam methane reforming or chlor-alkali production, rather than electrolysis powered by renewable energy) is readily available at competitive prices.

Under such conditions, the total cost of ownership for fuel cell systems can achieve parity with, or even fall below, that of lithium-ion battery solutions. Furthermore, when accounting for the end-of-life considerations—where fuel cells present fewer recycling challenges and material recovery complexities compared to the substantial battery waste stream associated with electrochemical energy storage—hydrogen fuel cells emerge as a fundamentally more sustainable and economically viable long-term solution.

	▲	defrost 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The arena of pragmatic debate here is in the billion tonne / annum heavy haulage mineral resources sector. The few big players are keen to drop fossil fuels for many reasons and have had the capital to invest in meaningful R&D for the past decades which is still ongoing. They also have an advantage of fixed controlled routes and total infrastructure control over extraction, haulage, and shipping sites; power, rail, roads, et al. Recent notes from that edge include: * Fortescue says Rio Tinto wrong about electric trucks, admits hydrogen tech at “very early stage” - https://reneweconomy.com.au/fortescue-says-rio-tinto-wrong-a... * BHP and Rio Tinto welcome first Caterpillar battery-electric haul trucks to the Pilbara - https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/releases/2025/bhp-and-rio-t... and * Andrew Forrest pivots on hydrogen trucks - https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/fortescue-and-rio-say-b... Forrest being one of the more pro-hydrogen billionaires in the mix. FWiW I watch all the approaches with interest and expect to see more Red Queen racing before any trophies go out.

▲

idiotsecant 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Bulk hydrogen makes a lot less sense than pumping water up a hill. We have thousands and thousands of sites throughout the country that would be great for pumped storage and require absolutely no advanced technology. They are buildable today.

	▲	rob74 3 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I guess that with "throughout the country" you mean the US? There, building gigantic new pumped storage systems might work, e.g. somewhere on a mesa in a desert with few people living nearby (OTOH you need some source of water for pumped storage too, so a desert location is not really ideal), but in more populated locations (i.e. Europe) such a project would face opposition and interminable delays caused by all the NIMBYs living next to it. Besides that: pumped storage is good for regulating short-term fluctuations (between day and night), not so sure about storing surplus renewable energy produced in summer to use it during winter, as the article proposes?
	▲	defrost 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Location, location, location - there are many sites globally suitable for geological bulk hydrogen storage; the UK has had the Tesside site operational until recently since the early 1970s. They were built 50 years ago. (Slightly before today). Pumped hydrogen at Walpole is a great functional little project that eases the grid edge brown out problem. ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45332157 ) Scaling that up to the energy storage potential of the right geological structures of the sizes needed to power cities and run heavy industrial isn't as economically clearcut as you may assume.