On Friday, Italian infrastructure giant Snam’s CEO Marco Alvera shared his vision in the changing role of hydrogen in our future, claiming that if hydrogen is to be produced using renewables, it should have the ability to successfully travel through existing gas pipelines.

Today, Italian gas is produces from Serbia and Russia via pipelines. With these changes, production will flow and hydrogen will come in from North Africa, the North Sea, and more, due to both solar and wind resources available to the country.

Alvera was full of praise for the versatility and strength of hydrogen as an energy carrier. They talked about how it had been tested in existing pipes, with promising results; from blends of 10% all the way to 100% hydrogen, testing has been successful across the board., and was described as a “versatile energy carrier” by the International Energy Agency.

For a process as important and vital to our survival, we have surprisingly few ways of producing it. One interesting method is electrolysis- splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with an electric current.

But this is not the only way; If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source, such as wind or solar, then some call it green hydrogen; Unfortunately, green hydrogen is extortionate to produce, leaving the larger majority of hydrogen generation up to fossil fuels.

Earlier this week, a note given by the World Energy Council stated that low-carbon hydrogen wasn’t “cost competitive with other energy supplies in most applications and locations,” claiming that without significant financial support, it is unlikely that this will change any time soon.