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@Sam_w
Hmmm, the extraction process doesn't sound overly scalable currently either.
Hydrogen gas is extracted from water by a technique known as electrolysis, which involves running a high electric current through water to separate hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The electrolysis process is pretty expensive since it involves high energy expenditure.
The energy used to generate electricity in the electrolysis process is harnessed from fossil fuels like oil, natural gas or coal. It can also be tapped from renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydropower to ensure there are no greenhouse gas emissions.
Obtaining volumes of hydrogen by this method is still under research to establish a viable method of generating it domestically at a relatively low cost.
Another method of hydrogen gas extraction is steam-methane reforming or steam extraction, which entails the separation of hydrogen atoms in methane from carbon atoms. It is the current technique used to obtain hydrogen gas in vast quantities. The downside to steam-methane reforming is that it emits a lot of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to the atmosphere, which are recipes for global warming.