Green Hydrogen – Danish Government to Invest 1.25 Billion on Technology that Converts Wind Electricity into Fuel

Green Hydrogen – Danish government to invest 1.25 billion on technology that converts wind electricity into fuel.

The technology has enormous potential, but according to DTU expert, it requires more effort than what the government proposal envisages.

In the future, it may turn green to sail container ships, fly and drive trucks. That, at least, is the government’s ambition.

Therefore, Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen (Social Democratic Party) is now presenting a proposal that will increase the tender support for the so-called Power-to-X technology, so that in future DKK 1.25 billion will be given as a lump sum.

In addition, DKK 344 million is allocated to investment support for innovation and development projects within the same technology.

Dan Jørgensen told TV 2.

It’s a technology that for many – I think – sounds like science fiction.

“But actually, it’s just science. Well, it’s just science. We know how to do it, but it has to be up in scale and down in price.

Will be among the world’s most ambitious

If the technology is to be broadened enough to make a real contribution to achieving the climate goal for 2030, an economic injection is not enough, says Dan Jørgensen.

Therefore, the government is also proposing a change in the law so that in future power lines can be routed directly from wind and solar parks to Power-to-X plants.

This will reduce the cost of developing and strengthening the collective electricity network, the minister argues:

• It may sound technical and boring, but it is absolutely essential and necessary if we are to achieve this.

That sounds pretty cumbersome. Is this even worth the cost?

• This is pretty hard to do. That is also why we are going to be the ones in the world who have one of the most ambitious objectives for this now. We make between four and six gigawatts of electrolysis capability with our strategy here. By comparison, the whole of Germany has five in their strategy, so given the size of our country, this is very, very ambitious. And it should be, says Dan Jørgensen.

What is Power-to-X?

Power-to-X covers a technology where, using electrolysis, surplus energy is converted from, among other things, wind turbines to hydrogen. Among other things, as the Minister for Climate Change points out, it is considered to be the solution to how it can become greener to fly in the future.

You’re telling us to be a pioneer. Why is it so important?

• Denmark is a small country that accounts for only 0.1 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, so if we want to influence the climate, it is not enough that we lower our own emissions. We must also be a pioneering country that shows how to do it.

A potential lineup

At the energy company Ørsted, they believe that the technology has the potential to fundamentally switch heavy transport.

This is what Anders Christian Nordstrøm, the company’s vice president of hydrogen, tells us.

However, they face a number of challenges. First of all, expanding the technology will require more green power to be produced than is the case.

That part is already on the way, the deputy director acknowledges. Among other things, with the plans for an artificial energy island in the North Sea, which, however, is not expected to be completed until after 2030.

At the same time, however, the way must be made for less costly production, which the government, according to the deputy director, can contribute to.

• The new green fuels are currently more expensive than oil and gas, and therefore a framework must be created that gives shipping and aviation an incentive to switch to the new green fuels, he tells TV 2.

Not much effect on 2030 targets

At DTU, they welcome the government’s focus on power-to-X technology, which according to Department Director Søren Linderoth has “huge potential”.

Søren Linderoth, Department Director:

This is something that the whole world needs and where Denmark has great potential to both make a very big difference and make money from it.

We can export both the products and the technologies we make, he says.

The technology is already used, but on such a small scale that, according to Søren Linderoth, it does not move many ships.

Therefore, an investment in development is necessary, he explains, mentioning, among other things, wind turbines as an example of a technology that has only now begun to “get by” without support. Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central.

Power-to-X is even more complex, says Søren Linderoth, and he therefore expects the development to take longer, yet the government seems to believe.

• It is a great energy revolution that we are engaged in, and I think it takes a lot more effort than what they are proposing here, he says.

Government will shed $1.25 billion after technology that converts electricity into fuel, December 15, 2021