Originally published on September 17, 2025 by Michael Barnard for Medium
A few weeks ago, I had another opportunity to sit down with Dr. Joseph Romm, currently working with Michael Mann at the UPenn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. The topic was the 20th anniversary edition of his book The Hype About Hydrogen, available now. What follows is lightly edited transcript of the first half of our conversation.
Michael Barnard [MB]: Welcome back to Redefining Energy Tech. I’m your host, Michael Barnard. My guest today is Dr. Joseph Romm, senior research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. His work focuses on the sustainability, scalability, and scientific foundations of major climate solutions. The 20th anniversary edition of his book The Hype About Hydrogen is being released on Earth Day, and we’re here to talk about it. Welcome, Joe.
Joe Romm [JR]: Thanks for having me, Mike.
[MB]: Well, it’s great to have you back. We talked about BECCS and a few other things about a year and a half ago. Then, last year, you asked me to take a quick look at your book and offer any technical notes — which I did. And now, here we are — it’s coming out in just six days. Very exciting.