"Green hydrogen" is a promising source of energy in Germany

 

Hydrogen is a promising future energy source. Some major oil companies are investing in this new technology. The German government is actively seeking to rely on "green hydrogen" to achieve energy sufficiency and climate protection.

 

Hydrogen is more complex if the economy will succeed in running until 2050 in a "climate neutral" manner. With its versatile use in industry, even in truck traffic, and perhaps even in aviation, this gas is considered an ideal energy source. For the German government, hydrogen is in any case "a central component of the energy policy transformation".

 

Analysts at the British Institute Aurora Energy Research see it the same way: they note in an international comparison of the European market that "Germany has an ambitious and detailed plan as well as a chain that supplies hydrogen". Germany is by far the most attractive market for hydrogen. And the Germans are better than the Netherlands, Britain, France and Norway. It is constantly evident that large investors are interested and announce new hydrogen projects in Germany. For its part, the German government decided, in accordance with the "hydrogen strategy", to establish partnerships with foreign suppliers and support domestic production by nine billion euros. ²

v Lead by example in the introduction

 

As such, the British energy company BP and windmills company Orsted from Denmark announced on Tuesday (11 November 2020) the construction of a hydrogen-generating facility in Lingen in central northern Germany. With 50 megawatts, this project will exceed the programmed capacity of the Westküste 100 project in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The Danish company Orsted is involved in the project. And the Danish windmill operator in the North Sea is expected to provide green electricity. The start-up date in both cases is set for 2024. Even the Shell oil company is looking to become a leading exhibitor of "green hydrogen," and this is what it announced in September. The company also wants, through a combination of offshore wind mills and hydrogen production, to participate in the production of renewable energies and until 2030, to provide about 1000 charging stations for electric cars at its gas stations.

 

v Altmire strategy

 

The German economy minister is currently pushing for the adoption of common standards in the European Union's hydrogen strategy. These would define what "green" hydrogen is, as the minister demanded in early October at the start of an international conference: "Unilateral national trends serve no one." According to Altmire's hydrogen strategy, by 2040 at the latest, 10 megawatts of electrolysis capacity must be built - the equivalent of ten nuclear plants. Production is intended to be supported here by exempting electricity from wind or sun charges.

 

European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson also noted the need for international cooperation and mentioned countries such as Ukraine and Morocco as partners. And Germany has already concluded first cooperation agreements with African countries, where the sun and wind are used more strongly as energy sources. “Hydrogen is an opportunity that we don't often get,” Simson said.

v Lack of networks

 

And the Minister of Economy in North Rhine-Westphalia, Andreas Pinkwart, pointed to a problem in Germany: According to estimates, the minister said, there will be a need in Germany until 2050 for about 6000 km of hydrogen pipes, and so far there is only a small part. And the organization of hydrogen networks must therefore be absorbed as soon as possible within the Energy Economy Act. Hydrogen extracted from renewable energies should be tax-free, as Pinkfart said: "Only in this way can we find economic stimulus for the production and use of green hydrogen." A tax to support renewable energies is so far impeding the implementation of Germany's hydrogen strategy.

 

v Growing need

 

Another study shows the urgent side of building infrastructure, by virtue of the fact that the need for electricity in Germany until 2050 will increase. By 60 percent compared to 2018, consumption will increase through a shift from oil and gas to electric energy, and it must be covered entirely from renewable sources, according to the study authors. Since 2030, the need for electricity will be higher than the economy ministry assumed.

 

v Hydrogen production as a motor jobs

 

Economically, investments in hydrogen technology could be fruitful: with a mandate from the Renewable Energies Consortium, according to the Climate, Environment and Energy Institute and the consultancy DIW Econ, by implementing the hydrogen strategy hundreds of thousands of jobs could be created. If 90 percent of the hydrogen in Germany is to achieve the goal of climate neutrality from domestic production, it is possible to have in 2050 more than 800,000 additional jobs and value-added activity of up to 30 billion euros.

 

And hydrogen produced in Germany is not automatically more expensive than hydrogen from North Africa or other regions, according to the authors of the study. The reason is the high transportation costs. And Germany is developing with its ambitious strategy in hydrogen and the increasing energy to exploit the sun and windmills, in a European comparison to the most attractive market for investments, especially in "green hydrogen".