The EU Commission has presented its European hydrogen strategy. According to this, hydrogen should be used “on a large scale in all sectors where decarbonization is difficult” by 2050. To achieve this, the Commission launched the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, involving industry and social leaders, national and regional ministers and the European Investment Bank. The alliance will build an investment pipeline to expand production “and promote demand for clean hydrogen in the EU,” it says.
Hydrogen could provide energy to sectors that are not suitable for electrification and store the energy to balance variable energy flows from renewable energy sources. However, this can only be achieved through public and private sector measures coordinated at EU level. In the long term, priority will be given to hydrogen, which is mainly generated using wind and solar energy. However, in the short and medium term, other forms of low-carbon hydrogen are also needed to quickly reduce emissions “and support the development of a viable market”.
The transition should take place in three stages. From 2020 to 2024, the EU will support the installation of electrolysers dedicated to the production of renewable hydrogen with an electrolysis capacity of at least six gigawatts and the production of up to one million tonnes of renewable hydrogen. According to the Commission, electrolysers with an output of around one gigawatt are currently installed.
From 2025 to 2030, hydrogen must become “an essential part” of the energy system by installing electrolysers with an electrolysis capacity of at least 40 gigawatts for the production of green hydrogen in the EU and producing up to ten million tonnes of renewable hydrogen. The production of the gas should take place mainly in local ecosystems close to users or near renewable energy sources. Finally, between 2030 and 2050, the technologies for renewable hydrogen should be mature and used on a large scale.
What is required is the financing of a special hydrogen infrastructure, the conversion of gas networks, CO2 capture projects and hydrogen filling stations. To this end, synergies between the energy and transport sectors would be used. In addition, the funds from the EU ETS Innovation Fund, which will pool a total of around ten billion euros to promote low-CO2020 technologies between 2030 and 2, could be used to support novel demonstration projects for innovative hydrogen-based technologies.
In addition to funding for electrolyzers, the strategy also includes investments in renewable electricity generation capacity, transportation and storage, retrofitting of existing gas infrastructure, and carbon capture and storage needed to produce clean hydrogen.
In addition, the Commission wants to help build financially sound and economically viable hydrogen projects. This could also be combined with advice and technical support from the European Investment Bank or within the framework of Horizon Europe.
So far, neither renewable hydrogen nor fossil hydrogen with CO2 capture are competitive with hydrogen produced purely from fossil fuels. The cost of fossil hydrogen, which depends largely on natural gas prices, would currently be around 1,50 euros per kilogram in the EU. The estimated cost of fossil hydrogen with CO2 capture and storage is around two euros and renewable hydrogen is between 2,50 and 5,50 euros per kilogram.
However, the costs of renewable hydrogen are falling rapidly. The costs for electrolysers have already fallen by 60 percent in the last ten years and are “expected to be halved” by 2030 compared to today due to economies of scale. In areas where electricity from renewable energy sources is cheap, “electrolyzers are expected to be able to compete with fossil hydrogen in 2030.”
Cumulative investments in renewable hydrogen could amount to up to 2050 to 180 billion euros in Europe by 470, and a new hydrogen value chain could lead directly and indirectly to jobs for up to one million people. By 2050, 24 percent of global energy demand could be met with clean hydrogen, which corresponds to annual sales of around 630 billion euros.
The hydrogen strategy is part of the European “Green Deal” growth strategy, which was announced in December last year. Europe wants to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Deep link:
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/hydrogen_strategy.pdf
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/ip_20_1259
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/QANDA_20_1257
Photos:
EU Commission presents the European hydrogen strategy: Eric Mamer, spokesman for the European Commission, deputy boss Frans Timmermans and Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson (from left to right) / © EU Commission
