Pioneering a Hydrogen Revolution: An Interview with Franklin Chang Díaz

Franklin Chang Díaz is a Costa Rican physicist, former NASA astronaut, and founder of Ad Astra Rocket Company. A pioneer in plasma propulsion and green hydrogen innovation, he has dedicated his post-NASA career to advancing clean energy technologies that bridge space science and sustainable development. Drawing on decades of experience with hydrogen fuel systems in spaceflight, Chang Díaz is now applying that expertise to help decarbonize Earth’s transport and energy sectors, proving that small nations can play an important role in the global transition to a hydrogen-powered future.

Your career began in space exploration, yet you have become one of the leading advocates for hydrogen energy. What inspired your transition from space technology to clean energy?

My experience with hydrogen started in space. At NASA, we used liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel cells to generate all the electricity and water we needed. That was our power source, our drinking water, our hygiene water—everything. And when we docked with the Mir Space Station, the Russians did not have any water. They relied on shipments from Earth, and they were always running low. Meanwhile, on our side, we had so much water that we had to dump the excess into space.

That experience made a deep impression on me. It became clear that this self-sustaining technology could be applied to Earth’s energy systems. The problem is that we remain trapped in a carbon-based economy, which continues to drive climate change. Costa Rica is uniquely positioned to lead the transition because it lacks oil and gas reserves and is therefore not bound to fossil fuels. Some people argue that the country should explore for fossil fuels, but by the time any resources were extracted, the world would have already moved on. The future is hydrogen.

Hydrogen is often seen as expensive compared to traditional fossil fuels. How do you address this concern?

The problem is that people only compare the price of hydrogen to gasoline, without considering the hidden costs of fossil fuels—public health impacts, environmental degradation, and climate change. The price and the cost are not the same thing. The environment is subsidizing fossil fuels, and we are not accounting for that.

In Costa Rica, we are proving that hydrogen is already economically viable. We are building a hydrogen production plant in Guanacaste, which will produce 430 kilograms of hydrogen per day—enough to power a fleet of trucks and buses. This will be the first fully operational commercial hydrogen project in Costa Rica, and we believe it will serve as a blueprint for the rest of Latin America.

Many companies are now integrating AI with energy solutions. How do you see AI playing a role in the hydrogen revolution?

AI is critical. Hydrogen production, storage, and distribution need to be optimized in real time. At Ad Astra, we are developing AI-driven solutions to optimize electrolysis efficiency based on renewable energy availability, predictive maintenance for fuel cells, and cost reduction. We implement AI-driven logistics to distribute hydrogen more efficiently. AI also plays a role in forecasting energy demand so that we can produce hydrogen when renewables are most abundant, reducing waste. This is how we make hydrogen economically scalable.

Many assume the hydrogen transition will start in developed nations like the U.S. or Germany. But you have argued that developing nations might lead the way. Why?

The U.S. and Europe have deeply entrenched fossil fuel industries. They have established infrastructure, and they are resistant to change because too much money is at stake. In contrast, developing countries do not have that burden, which means they can move faster.

Costa Rica, for example, produces 99 percent of its electricity from renewables. We do not have a domestic oil industry fighting against clean energy. That gives us a huge advantage. If we prove hydrogen’s viability here, other developing nations will follow.

What does the roadmap look like for integrating hydrogen in Costa Rica and Latin America?

The biggest challenge is resistance to change. People are comfortable with gasoline cars and fossil fuel infrastructure. The companies that profit from these industries do not want change. But this is exactly what happened in the 1800s when horse-and-buggy manufacturers opposed the automobile.

What we are doing in Costa Rica is proving that hydrogen works in real-world applications. Our first commercial hydrogen plant will be operational by mid-2026, and we are focusing on heavy-duty transport—buses and trucks that currently burn enormous amounts of imported fossil fuels. By proving the business case for hydrogen, we can scale the model across Latin America.

What advice do you have for young innovators who want to work at the intersection of space technology and clean energy?

Be willing to fail. People assume that everything I have done has been successful, but the reality is that 9 out of 10 things I try fail. Failure is how you learn to succeed. Second, do not work alone. Build teams, bring in people with different perspectives, and collaborate. Innovation happens faster in groups. Finally, do not wait for everything to be perfect before taking action. Take small steps, iterate, and improve as you go. If you try to predict every possible risk before acting, you will never move forward.

Your vision for the future extends beyond Earth. How do you see humanity balancing sustainability on Earth with space exploration?

We are all astronauts. Earth is our spaceship, and our life-support system is failing. If we do not fix it, we will not survive long enough to explore the stars.

But I believe humanity will rise to the challenge. I see a future where humans live on other planets, and Earth becomes a global national park—a preserved sanctuary that people visit, but not where the majority of humanity lives. To achieve that, we must transition to sustainable energy now, and hydrogen is key to that transition.

Diaz spoke with Solis on November 12th , 2024. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.