Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42369176›Full record

ArticleCommunications sustainability2026

Demand for cooling water reshapes global water-sustainable hydrogen production.

Bernhard Wortmann, Daniel Arenas, Christoph Winkler, Jochen Linßen, Detlef Stolten, Heidi Heinrichs

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications sustainability, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Bernhard WortmannForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, Jülich Systems Analysis (ICE-2), Jülich, Germany.ORCID 0009-0008-6400-6707
Daniel ArenasRWTH Aachen University, Chair for Fuel Cells, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Aachen, Germany.
Christoph WinklerForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, Jülich Systems Analysis (ICE-2), Jülich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5455-0946
Jochen LinßenForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, Jülich Systems Analysis (ICE-2), Jülich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-2805-2307
Detlef StoltenForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, Jülich Systems Analysis (ICE-2), Jülich, Germany.
Heidi HeinrichsForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, Jülich Systems Analysis (ICE-2), Jülich, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Green hydrogen is central to many decarbonization strategies, yet its water footprint is often reduced to the water consumed by electrolysis itself. As electrolyzer plants scale up, cooling can become a hidden water demand, especially in hot and water-stressed regions where many renewable hydrogen projects are planned. Here we combine a thermodynamic cooling model with climate reanalysis, global water-stress data and renewable capacity-factor maps to quantify evaporative-cooling water demand for electrolysis across regions and seasons. We show that cooling can dominate total water use and that high solar-resource regions frequently coincide with high water stress and high cooling demand. Wind-rich regions, in contrast, are more often located in cooler or more water-abundant settings. A composite Water Risk Index identifies where freshwater-based evaporative cooling is likely to require alternatives such as dry or hybrid cooling, desalination or reclaimed-water supply. Our results show that cooling technology and water sourcing are central to water-sustainable hydrogen planning.

Indexed as

Energy infrastructureEnvironmental impact

Identifiers

PMID42369176
PMCPMC13303071

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.