(Berlin) - Electrolyzers are currently installed in Germany, which are merely small demonstration systems and which generally have an electrical output of a maximum of ten megawatts. Therefore, this year the electricity consumption for the production of green hydrogen is negligible compared to the total electricity consumption in Germany, according to the federal government's answer to a small question from Alliance90/The Greens in the Bundestag (printed matter 19/27338). The party would like to know what demand for renewable energies the federal government expects for the production of green hydrogen this year and for the years 2030, 2040 and 2050, and what actual amounts of electricity will be needed in Germany for the production of green hydrogen in the years in question be available.
20 terawatt hours in 2030
For 2030, the federal government's national hydrogen strategy envisages an electrical electrolysis capacity of five gigawatts. Assuming 4.000 hours of full use per year, this would result in electricity consumption of 20 terawatt hours, the answer states. According to the National Hydrogen Strategy, ten gigawatts of electrolysis capacity should be installed by 2040 at the latest. Assuming 4.000 hours of full use annually, this would result in an electricity consumption of 40 terawatt hours. Until 2050, the development of domestic hydrogen production is “very uncertain from today’s perspective”. This depends, among other things, on future technology and demand developments. In addition to domestic production, hydrogen can also be imported.
There is “a close connection” between the expansion of renewable energies and the expansion of the production of green hydrogen. The federal government is currently developing criteria to credibly demonstrate the “green” properties of hydrogen when purchasing grid electricity and will “discuss these concepts with the European Commission,” it said when asked how “greenwashing” should be ruled out in the case of green hydrogen .
No findings on offshore hydrogen production
The federal government has “no experience yet” with regard to the potential for hydrogen production through offshore locations in the North Sea. However, according to the lead Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the aim is to “quickly implement pilot projects at sea, on the basis of which reliable statements can then be made about technical challenges and costs”. Electricity from wind turbines at sea could ensure high utilization of the hydrogen electrolysers “if they are directly connected to a wind farm,” which also relieves the burden on the electricity grid.
However, it is currently unclear “whether and under what conditions electrolysis is possible at sea”. These are relatively small areas for which the establishment of an independent grid connection would not be an option.
Electrolyzers in southern Germany could exacerbate electricity shortages
Photovoltaic systems in Germany had fewer full-load hours compared to wind energy. If photovoltaic electricity is used exclusively, this could “limit the utilization of the electrolysers and thus reduce the profitability of projects, especially in the market ramp-up phase, where the capital costs of electrolysis are still particularly high.” In addition, the effects on the energy system should be taken into account with regard to the locations of electrolysers. The additional electricity consumption should not exacerbate existing bottlenecks in the power grid or cause additional power grid bottlenecks, which could particularly be the case with extensive electrolysis services in the area of the industrial regions of southern Germany that are remote from the coast.
The Greens also wanted to know to what extent the federal government would ensure that no additional coal power or other fossil fuels would be needed for hydrogen production. According to the answer, the National Hydrogen Strategy states that only hydrogen produced from renewable energies is sustainable in the long term. “It is therefore the federal government’s goal to use green hydrogen, to support a rapid market ramp-up and to establish corresponding value chains.”
At the same time, the federal government assumes that “a global and European hydrogen market will emerge in the next ten years”. CO2-neutral (“blue” or “turquoise”) hydrogen would also be traded on this market. Due to its close integration into the European energy supply infrastructure, CO2-neutral hydrogen will also play a role in Germany - “and, if available, also used on a transitional basis”.
Definition of “green” hydrogenf
To define green hydrogen internationally, in addition to bilateral energy cooperation, the Federal Government is primarily relying on multilateral energy cooperation (including within the framework of international organizations and forums such as IEA, IRENA, G7/G20, CEM and MI). For example, the CEM initiative deals with designations of origin of hydrogen in order to accompany the certification process driven by the industry. In the medium term, only the production of green hydrogen should be promoted to build a global market. The National Hydrogen Council (NWR) is also working on an effective and verifiable definition of green hydrogen. However, a final recommendation is not yet available.
Hydrogen from newly built island networks powered by renewable energies - as one of the possible energy sources for green hydrogen - can be certified relatively easily, as in this case the additional construction of renewable energies and the origin of the electricity can be easily verified. However, other aspects would also have to be taken into account during certification, in particular a sustainable water supply.
Financing of support programs
In further questions, the Green group demanded, among other things, answers about the financing of specific funding programs. According to the Federal Government, a total of 2030 billion euros from the special “Energy and Climate Fund” of the federal budget for industrial projects are available from the Federal Environment Ministry for the years 2021 to 2024 for measures in the 1,89 Climate Protection Program to establish a “National Decarbonization Program”. As the first investment project, a grant of 2020 million euros was approved in December 5,2 by Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH for the project “ProDRI – Industrial production of direct reduced iron (DRI) based on natural gas and/or hydrogen”. Further project applications are currently being examined. The lead projects “H2Mare”, “H2Giga” and “TransHyDE” are in the application and approval process. Therefore, the BMWi cannot provide any information about the distribution of funding or the partner structure. The total planned funding amount here amounts to 700 million euros.
deep link
https://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/19/273/1927338.pdf
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