This. Much of human history has been reliant on renewable energy (firewood, food, heating, etc), and it is only the past 200 years or so that fossilized biomass has been a thing. Exotic materials can also be avoided with techniques such as concentrated solar power for high temperature manufacturing (see Odeillo solar furnace), manufacturing at sites of energy generation (eg wind mills for “milling”), and Stirling engines.

I’ve been seeing a lot of research on reversible fuel cells, hydrogen safety, and using hydrogen as storage for renewable surpluses. I’m curious to know what sources lead you to believe that hydrogen is “a dead end”.