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History of hydrogen

How did our relationship with it begin and change?

Henry Cavendish isolated hydrogen in 1766, and Antoine Lavoisier named it "water-former". It lifted balloons and airships, then became a bulk chemical for ammonia, bombs, rockets and refineries. World use passed 100 million tonnes in 2025.

Last updated 3 October 2026.

Discovery and name

In the early 1500s the alchemist Paracelsus saw that iron filings in sulfuric acid gave off bubbles that burned. Robert Boyle saw the same in 16711. Henry Cavendish collected the gas in 1766 and showed that it was different from other gases12. He later showed that burning hydrogen makes water1.

In June 1783 Antoine Lavoisier showed that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, not an element2. Lavoisier named the gas hydro-gen, from the Greek words for “water” and “forming”1.

In the same year Jacques Charles filled a balloon with hydrogen. His team made the gas by pouring hydrochloric acid onto iron filings2. On 1 December 1783 Charles and Marie-Noël Robert made the first crewed hydrogen balloon flight2.

James Dewar first liquefied hydrogen in 18983. In 1931 Harold Urey and his colleagues found deuterium, a rarer and heavier form of hydrogen1.

How our use changed

Hydrogen first lifted balloons and airships. That use ended after the Hindenburg caught fire1. The airship burned at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 6 May 1937, and 36 people died4.

Hydrogen became a bulk chemical when industry began to make ammonia. Fritz Haber found the synthesis, and Carl Bosch of BASF made it work at industrial scale56. The first plant started at Oppau, Germany, in 19136.

An ammonia plant at Trail, Canada, also made heavy water for the Manhattan Project7. The first US thermonuclear test, in 1952, used liquid deuterium as fuel8.

NASA then chose liquid hydrogen for the upper stages of the Saturn rockets9. Apollo fuel cells made electricity from hydrogen and oxygen10.

Refining became the largest use. Chevron states that it invented the modern hydrocracking process in 195911. Refinery use grew from about 6 million tonnes in 1975 to about 38 million tonnes in 201812.

Japan adopted a national hydrogen strategy in December 201713. In 2020 the EU set a target of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen made in the EU in 203014. By 2026, 66 countries had a strategy15. But in 2025, low-emission hydrogen was almost 1 million of the 103 million tonnes15.

1500s

  1. c. 1500

    Science

    In the early 1500s Paracelsus notes that the bubbles from iron filings in sulfuric acid burn. 1

1700s

  1. 1766

    Science

    Henry Cavendish isolates hydrogen, which he calls inflammable air. 2

  2. 1783

    Science

    Antoine Lavoisier shows that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. 2

  3. 1783

    Culture

    Jacques Charles launches the first hydrogen balloon from the Champ de Mars in Paris. In December he and Marie-Noël Robert make the first crewed hydrogen flight. 2

1800s

  1. 1898

    Science

    James Dewar liquefies hydrogen for the first time. 3

1900s

  1. 1913

    Industry

    BASF starts the first ammonia synthesis plant at Oppau, Germany, using the Haber-Bosch process. 6

  2. 1918

    Science

    Fritz Haber is awarded the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for making ammonia from its elements. He receives it in 1919. 5

  3. 1931

    Science

    Harold Urey and his colleagues find deuterium, a heavy form of hydrogen. 1

  4. 1937

    Disaster

    The hydrogen airship Hindenburg burns at Lakehurst, New Jersey. 35 people on board and one on the ground die. 4

  5. 1943

    Conflict

    An ammonia plant at Trail, Canada, starts to deliver heavy water (deuterium oxide) to the Manhattan Project. 7

  6. 1952

    Conflict

    The United States tests the first thermonuclear device, Mike, at Enewetak Atoll. Its fuel is liquid deuterium. 8

  7. 1959

    Industry

    Chevron states that it invented modern hydrocracking in this year. The process uses hydrogen to turn heavy oil into lighter fuels. 11

  8. 1963

    Science

    Centaur, an upper stage that burns liquid hydrogen, makes its first successful flight. NASA had chosen liquid hydrogen for the upper stages of the Saturn rockets. 9

  9. 1975

    Industry

    World demand for pure hydrogen is about 18 million tonnes, mostly for ammonia and refining. 12

  10. 1987

    Science

    Drillers looking for water at Bourakébougou, Mali, find natural hydrogen. Since 2012 the well has made about 5 tonnes a year, used for power. 15

2000s

  1. 2017

    Law and policy

    Japan adopts its Basic Hydrogen Strategy. 13

  2. 2019

    Disaster

    A hydrogen storage tank at a research center in Gangwon province, South Korea, explodes. Two people die and six are injured. 16

  3. 2020

    Law and policy

    In its hydrogen strategy, the EU sets a target of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year in the EU by 2030. 14

  4. 2022

    Trade

    After Russia invades Ukraine, gas prices rise. Hydrogen from gas in Europe costs more than USD 9 per kilogram as a yearly average. 15

  5. 2022

    Law and policy

    The US Inflation Reduction Act creates the 45V tax credit for clean hydrogen production. 17

  6. 2024

    Law and policy

    The European Court of Auditors finds the EU renewable hydrogen targets overly ambitious. 18

  7. 2025

    Industry

    World hydrogen demand passes 100 million tonnes. Low-emission production nears 1 million tonnes. 15

  8. 2026

    Conflict

    War in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz cut exports of ammonia, urea and methanol. 15

Sources

  1. 1

    Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026. Hydrogen: element information, properties and uses .

    History, uses and biological role.

    • In the early 1500s the alchemist Paracelsus noted that the bubbles given off when iron filings were added to sulfuric acid were flammable … In 1671 Robert Boyle made the same observation
    • in 1766 he collected the bubbles and showed that they were different from other gases
    • he later showed that when hydrogen burns it forms water
    • The gas was given its name hydro-gen, meaning water-former, by Antoine Lavoisier … derived from the Greek ‘hydro’ and ‘genes’ meaning water forming
    • In 1931, Harold Urey and his colleagues at Columbia University in the US detected a second, rarer, form of hydrogen
    • its future in filling airships ended when the Hindenburg airship caught fire
    • In the early 1500s the alchemist Paracelsus noted that the bubbles given off when iron filings were added to sulfuric acid were flammable
  2. 2

    Science History Institute, 2026. Artificial Clouds and Inflammable Air: The Science and Spectacle of the First Balloon Flights, 1783 .

    Cavendish, Lavoisier and the first hydrogen balloon flights.

    • Henry Cavendish had isolated hydrogen in 1766
    • In June 1783 Lavoisier proved that water was not an element but rather a combination of hydrogen and oxygen
    • Large quantities of hydrochloric acid were poured into a barrel of iron filings
    • on 1 December 1783 the first manned hydrogen balloon flight occurred. Jacques Charles and instrument maker Marie-Noël Robert flew
    • Englishman Henry Cavendish had isolated hydrogen in 1766
    • On 27 August 1783 ... the world's first unmanned hydrogen balloon took off from the Champ de Mars ... on 1 December 1783 the first manned hydrogen balloon flight occurred
  3. 3

    John L. Sloop, NASA History Series, 1978. Liquid Hydrogen as a Propulsion Fuel, 1945-1959 (NASA SP-4404) , Introduction; chapters 3-4.

    Liquid hydrogen from Dewar to rockets, and its use in the first thermonuclear test.

    • used by James Dewar in the first liquefaction of hydrogen in 1898
  4. 4

    Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2010. Following the Hindenburg .

    The Hindenburg's hydrogen and the 1937 fire at Lakehurst.

    • On May 6, 1937, it arrived at its American terminus, the Lakehurst Naval Air Station … 13 passengers and 22 crew died, as did one member of the ground crew
    • On May 6, 1937, it arrived at its American terminus, the Lakehurst Naval Air Station ... 13 passengers and 22 crew died, as did one member of the ground crew
  5. 5

    Nobel Prize Outreach, 2026. Fritz Haber: Facts .

    The 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for ammonia synthesis.

    • for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements
    • for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements ... Fritz Haber received his Nobel Prize one year later, in 1919
  6. 6

    BASF, 2026. 1913: First ammonia synthesis plant .

    Start of the first ammonia synthesis plant at Oppau.

    • Carl Bosch (1874-1940) has been working on the realization of ammonia synthesis on an industrial scale since 1908
    • The task is accomplished in 1913 when the first ammonia synthesis plant goes into operation
  7. 7

    Stephen A. Andrews, Madison T. Andrews and Thomas E. Mason (Los Alamos National Laboratory), 2021. Canadian Contributions to the Manhattan Project and Early Nuclear Research , Section III.B, Heavy water.

    Heavy water from the Trail ammonia plant for the Manhattan Project. A preprint (LA-UR-21-20844).

    • was modified to produce heavy water, in addition to its normal output of fertilizer
    • deliveries of heavy water began on 16 June 1943
  8. 8

    Atomic Heritage Foundation, National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, 2026. Hydrogen Bomb - 1950 .

    The 1950 decision and the 1952 Mike test.

    • Its thermonuclear fuel consisted of liquid deuterium
    • on November 1, 1952, the United States tested its first ever thermonuclear device at Eniwetok Atoll ... Its thermonuclear fuel consisted of liquid deuterium
  9. 9

    Virginia P. Dawson and Mark D. Bowles, NASA History Series, 2004. Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket, 1958-2002 (NASA SP-2004-4230) , Chapters 1 and 3.

    The Saturn upper-stage decision of 1959 and the first successful Centaur flight in 1963.

    • with the Apollo program already committed to using liquid hydrogen in the upper stages of the giant Saturn vehicle
    • the first successful launch of AC-2, 27 November 1963 ... the Apollo program already committed to using liquid hydrogen in the upper stages of the giant Saturn vehicle
  10. 10

    Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2026. Fuel Cell, Apollo .

    How the Apollo fuel cells used hydrogen and oxygen.

    • Each fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water
  11. 11

    Chevron Lummus Global, 2009. Hydrocracking Catalyst and Processing Developments .

    A licensor's account of the start of modern hydrocracking. Chevron Lummus Global is a Chevron joint venture. Used only for Chevron's own history.

    • Chevron invented the modern hydrocracking process in 1959
  12. 12

    International Energy Agency, 2019. Global demand for pure hydrogen, 1975-2018 , Chart data (columns: year; refining; ammonia; other).

    Demand for pure hydrogen by use, every five years from 1975.

    • 1975;6.2 … 2018e;38.243
    • 1975;6.2;10.877;1.077
  13. 13

    Ministry of the Environment, Japan, 2020. Summary of Japan's Hydrogen Strategy .

    Japan's Basic Hydrogen Strategy of December 2017 and its targets.

    • (2017/12) established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
    • Basic Hydrogen Strategy ... (2017/12) established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
  14. 14

    European Commission, 2024. Replies of the European Commission to the European Court of Auditors special report on the EU's industrial policy on renewable hydrogen , Section II.1, EU production and import targets.

    The Commission's reasons for its 2030 hydrogen targets.

    • in 2020, the European Hydrogen Strategy defined a strategic objective of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen production within the EU in 2030
  15. 15

    International Energy Agency, 2026. Global Hydrogen Review 2026 , Executive summary pp. 9-14; Middle East effects p. 21; Box 1.1 p. 20; targets p. 31; geological hydrogen pp. 36-42; demand pp. 44-57; transport p. 62; production pp. 83-85, 106; costs pp. 110-116; RED transposition p. 133; trade p. 143; policy p. 194; definitions pp. 257-258.

    Hydrogen demand, production routes, costs, emissions, trade and natural hydrogen for 2025.

    • 66 countries … have adopted hydrogen strategies
    • Low-emissions hydrogen production grew by 20% in 2025 to reach almost 1 Mt
    • The accidental discovery of a natural hydrogen well in Bourakébougou, Mali, during water drilling in 1987 ... Since 2012, the well has produced around 5 tpa H2 (100 barrels of oil equivalent per year), which is used for power
    • in Europe, where LCOH reached above USD 9/kg H2 as an annual average
    • Global hydrogen demand grew almost 3% in 2025 to surpass 100 Mt for the first time ... Low-emissions hydrogen production grew by 20% in 2025 to reach almost 1 Mt
    • The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has severely disrupted the supply of all these products
  16. 16

    BARPI, French Ministry for the Ecological Transition (ARIA accident database), 2020. Hydrogen and transport: the risks should not be underestimated (Flash ARIA) .

    Three hydrogen accidents in 2019 and an analysis of 372 hydrogen events.

    • A hydrogen storage tank at a new-energy research centre exploded ... Two people died and six others were injured
  17. 17

    Congressional Research Service, 2024. Hydrogen Production: Overview and Issues for Congress (R48196) , Summary; pp. 2-4 and Figure 1; pp. 14-18.

    World production estimates and route shares from US DOE; the 45V tax credit, the hydrogen hubs and the debate in Congress.

    • The tax credit was established by P.L. 117-169
  18. 18

    European Court of Auditors, 2024. Special report 11/2024: The EU's industrial policy on renewable hydrogen , Executive summary, paragraphs IV-V.

    Audit of the EU renewable hydrogen targets.

    • the EU targets turned out to be overly ambitious