While the United States pursues a vision of energy dominance that centers on hydrocarbons, China is inching toward dominating yet another future energy supply chain. Key technologies to produce low-emission hydrogen are quickly becoming one of the latest frontiers for geoeconomic competition, and the United States may yet again fall behind.

Often referred to as the “Swiss Army knife” of the energy transition, hydrogen is uniquely flexible. It can be produced from various types of resources, including natural gas and renewables. One of hydrogen’s biggest value propositions is that it can help decarbonize the “hard to abate” sectors that lack cost-effective clean alternatives and are difficult to electrify. These include critical industrial base sectors, such as petrochemical refining and steelmaking, as well as innovative clean fuels for the maritime and aviation sectors. What’s more, hydrogen can act as a store of energy over long periods, meaning that it can be used to enhance energy system integration, resilience, and reliability.