The Hype About Hydrogen

The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate is a book by Joseph J. Romm, published in 2004 by Island Press and updated in 2025. The book has been translated into German as Der Wasserstoff-Boom. Romm is an expert on clean energy, advanced vehicles, energy security, and greenhouse gas mitigation.

Over 200 publications, including Scientific American, Forbes magazine and The New York Times, have cited this book. The book was named one of the best science and technology books of 2004 by Library Journal.

The thrust of the book is that hydrogen is not economically feasible to use for transportation, nor will its use reduce global warming, because of the greenhouse gases generated during production and transportation of hydrogen, the low energy content per volume and weight of the container, the cost of the fuel cells, and the cost of the infrastructure for refueling. The author argues that a major effort to introduce hydrogen cars before 2030 would actually undermine efforts to reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.

In April 2025, Romm released a greatly expanded and updated version of the book, The Hype About Hydrogen, Revised Edition: False Promises and Real Solutions in the Race to Save the Climate.