Hydrogen CEO says onus is on his company to pursue climate solutions: ‘I mean, who else is going to do that?’

Good morning.

Is hydrogen the answer to the world’s energy problems? Our guest on Leadership Next this week answers that with a definite yes. His name is Seifi Ghasemi, CEO of Air Products, the largest producer and transporter of hydrogen in the world.

“Hydrogen has always been and will always be our only source of energy. There is no other source of energy. And if we want to use energy that doesn't pollute, we need to come up with hydrogen that is low carbon intensity.”

Which brings me to the colors. A quick primer: Gray hydrogen is made from natural gas, with a byproduct of carbon dioxide that ends up in the atmosphere. Blue hydrogen captures the CO2 and stores it in the earth. Green hydrogen is made using renewable energy—solar, wind, hydro, nuclear—with no CO2 byproduct. A hundred years from now, Ghasemi believes, all hydrogen will be green. The only question is how you get there.

“This is not like going from wood to coal or coal to oil because it's cheaper…You have to have a mechanism which is going to justify the additional cost. We are not going to go to a low-carbon world if you do not have the support of governments to encourage using it.”

That leads to the question that Michal Lev-Ram and I often ask on our Leadership Next podcast: What is the responsibility of the corporation to push climate solutions in the absence of clear government incentives?

“If hydrogen is the only solution and we are the largest hydrogen company, it is our responsibility to do that. I mean, who else is going to do that?”

But he acknowledges it is hard, particularly when the market is penalizing you for making large investments in projects with unclear economics.

“It’s not easy to convince your board that I’m going to invest $8.5 billion dollars in Saudi Arabia, and I don't have any customers yet.”

Ghasemi was born in Iran, emigrated to the U.S., and turns 80 years old in September. He says he hasn’t taken a vacation since 2004, and has no plans to retire. It sounded to us like he wants to see the energy transition through to completion.

You can listen to the full podcast on Apple and Spotify, and I would highly recommend it. And by the way, if your company is looking to learn from others on the sustainability journey, you should consider joining the Fortune Impact Initiative, held in conjunction with our partners at EVERFI. You can get more information here.

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Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com