Will hydrogen transmission replace electricity

It has been suggested that hydrogen, produced using nuclear power, could supplant electricity as the major way in which nuclear energy would be distributed and used. This paper compares the economics of transmitting and distributing nuclear energy as hydrogen and electricity. It is shown that if hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, it would be more expensive to deliver nuclear energy in this way than as electricity. Furthermore, since electricity is a higher grade source of energy than chemical fuel, its average usefulness per unit of energy delivered is higher. Whilst there are special areas where there may be a market for hydrogen generated from nuclear energy as fossil fuels become scarce, there does not seem to be an economic case for an all-embracing hydrogen economy.