Green hydrogen: researchers urges speed.
[ZDF] Cars, trains, industrial machines: With climate-neutral green hydrogen, the economy increasingly wants to replace fossil fuels. A researcher urges even more speed.The headlines speak of the “hydrogen megatrend” or the “hydrogen revolution”. And indeed, entire industrial sectors are currently electrifying no topic as much as green hydrogen,which is considered by many to be the key to a sustainable energy future.
Industry converts to hydrogen
It seems that the much-praised “energy source of the future” is now being helped to achieve a breakthrough: Alstom already has hydrogen trains in use in northern Germany, and from next year they will also be rolling on the first routes in Bavaria.
And the steel giants ThyssenKrupp and Salzgitter have begun testing the use of hydrogen instead of carbon for steel cooking in their blast furnaces. ThyssenKrupp wants to transfer the technology “to large-scale industrial use”, and competitor Salzgitter wants to use the same approach to reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 95 percent.
The Ruhr area: Hydrogen powerhouse instead of coal district
“Hydrogen should shape the Ruhr area like coal once did,” rejoices the “Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung”. The reason: RWE and Thyssenkrupp, together with other partners, want to build an infrastructure from which hydrogen producers in Lower Saxony and industrial customers in North Rhine-Westphalia benefit equally.
With the project “H2. Ruhr”, the energy group E.ON is also working with partners such as ABB and SAP to supply industry, SMEs and municipalities in the Ruhr area with green hydrogen.
European hydrogen infrastructure takes shape
The topic is also increasingly occupying politicians: With its hydrogen strategy, the European Union (EU) wants to invest almost half a trillion euros in renewable hydrogen production over the next 30 years.
And as part of the “National Hydrogen Strategy”, the Federal Republic of Germany is planning to invest currently nine billion euros in the development of infrastructure and the promotion of numerous industrial projects.
Germany to become hydrogen “lead market”
The coalition agreement of the new federal government promises further investments:
For example, we want to become the leading market for hydrogen technologies by 2030 and develop an ambitious update of the national hydrogen strategy.
Coalition agreement 2021As a common goal, the coalition members state a “rapid market ramp-up”. These announcements and the news that the EU Commission is now creating a basis for the world’s first hydrogen single market are causing euphoria among industry experts.
“Golden Age”
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Chairman Hydrogen Europe
The Golden Age of hydrogen has begun.
Countries such as the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark and especially Spain are currently much further along with hydrogen technology than Germany.
“However, the Federal Republic of Germany has the greatest potential, Germany will be by far the largest market for hydrogen.”
Researchers: More wind and solar energy is needed
This requires the construction of cross-border pipelines, because according to experts, Germany alone cannot produce the required quantities of hydrogen.
“We have such great demand that we have to import,” Chatzimarkakis. Volker Quaschning, Professor of Renewable Energy Systems at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, confirms this assessment.
At the same time, he calls for the expansion of wind and solar power plants, because:
Sufficient renewable generation capacities are not planned for the production of the necessary quantities of hydrogen either at home or abroad.
Volker Quaschning, Professor of Renewable Energy SystemsIn principle, climate neutrality would still be achievable for Germany in the 2030s, so that the Federal Republic of Germany could live up to its obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement, according to Quaschning. Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central.
Scientist Quaschning urges politicians to speed up
“But to do this, the new government must urgently revise its expansion plans for solar and wind power plants in Germany upwards once again and at the same time provide the necessary generation capacities for green hydrogen production abroad,” the scientist demands.Despite the increased pace of the energy transition, the current ambitions are “not yet sufficient” to achieve the climate protection goals.
Green hydrogen: Researcher calls for speed, December 30, 2021
