Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has the symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all normal matter.
The earliest known chemical property of hydrogen is that it burns with oxygen to form water; indeed, the name hydrogen is derived from Greek words meaning ‘maker of water.’
Hydrogen energy refers to the use of hydrogen as a clean and versatile energy carrier which is capable of storing, moving and delivering energy produced from diverse sources such as water, fossil fuels or biomass to power vehicles, generate electricity and heat buildings.
Hydrogen has been described as the “Swiss army knife” of energy because it plays a key role in several sectors where there are limited or no viable alternatives (including in applications where electrification is particularly challenging or costly).
Hydrogen (pronounced as Hi-dreh-jen) is a colorless gas represented by the chemical symbol H. It is the first element in the periodic table, belonging to the family of nonmetals [1]. Since hydrogen is a diatomic gas, it’s denoted by the molecular formula H 2.
On earth, hydrogen occurs naturally combined with other elements in liquids, gases, or solids. Hydrogen combined with oxygen is water (H 2 O). Hydrogen combined with carbon forms different compounds—or hydrocarbons—that are found in natural gas, coal, and petroleum.
Element Hydrogen (H), Group 1, Atomic Number 1, s-block, Mass 1.008. Sources, facts, uses, scarcity (SRI), podcasts, alchemical symbols, videos and images.
Hydrogen is a feedstock and energy carrier used in multiple sectors. Global hydrogen demand reached 97 Mt in 2023, a 2.5% increase from 2022, with 10 Mt in the U.S. 1,2 Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but is present in limited amounts in elemental form on Earth.