Unlocking Green Oxygen's Potential for Planetary Carbon Management

TL;DR

This paper explores how oxygen from green hydrogen production can help manage planetary carbon and build a sustainable chemical industry.

Contribution

The paper introduces novel opportunities for utilizing green oxygen in future industrial networks.

Findings

Green oxygen can support efficient future chemical industry networks.

Regulatory barriers must be addressed to scale green oxygen use.

Cross-sector collaboration is needed to realize oxygen's potential.

Abstract

With the rise of the hydrogen economy and the necessity of active planetary carbon management, opportunities emerge for utilizing oxygen generated as a byproduct of electrolytic hydrogen production. While oxygen has established uses, this perspective focuses on novel opportunities arising from the substantial increase in oxygen production driven by the growing green hydrogen sector. Today's large‐scale, fossil‐based chemical industry achieves its high efficiency primarily through integrated networks. Green oxygen could serve as a crucial building block for forming efficient networks of the future chemical industry, contributing to planetary carbon management and the development of a nonfossil‐based chemical industry of the future. Crucially, regulatory barriers to the implementation and scaling of green oxygen utilization need to be addressed.

Water electrolysis generates both H2 and O2, yet industrial focus remains largely restricted to H2‐driven reductions. The parallel use of O2 offers considerable rewards but remains underexplored. Unlocking this dual‐gas potential necessitates robust cross‐sector communication to identify and scale viable industrial use cases.© 2026 WILEY‐VCH GmbH

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