Studies & Reports

Shortly
In the paper, the Federal Ministry of Economics explains how the traffic light coalition wants to make up for “a drastic shortfall” in climate protection goals. The expansion of renewable energies is an “absolute priority”. The tender volumes for wind and solar power plants would be increased, and municipalities should share in the economic returns in the future. From 2023, the EEG levy will be financed entirely from the federal budget. In order to achieve the market ramp-up of green hydrogen, the expansion target for electrolysers will be doubled to 2030 GW by 10. The national hydrogen strategy will be revised and additional funding programs will be launched. (Scope: 37 pages)

Publisher
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (January 2022)

Created by
Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection

Shortly
The role of hydrogen and e-fuels in the next few years will be limited primarily by their low availability, so that hydrogen will only play a small role until 2030. By 2045, renewable energy capacities should be tripled, battery-electric vehicles will dominate new car registrations and around five million heat pumps will be installed. At the same time, the market ramp-up of hydrogen must be pursued with great political vigor.
As long as there is uncertainty about feasible quantities and prices, hydrogen should be used where there are no alternatives through direct electrification. It is also conceivable to use hydrogen from fossil sources as a temporary bridging technology, accompanied by certification, regulation and appropriate pricing of emissions. This is the only way to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are actually reduced and not just relocated. (Scope: 30 pages)

Publisher
Copernicus Project Ariadne, PIK (November 2021)

Created by
various authors from six institutes

Shortly
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the World Economic Forum have unveiled a jointly developed guide to help countries develop a “roadmap” for implementing green hydrogen. The “toolbox” is intended to enable policymakers to prioritize actions and accelerate hydrogen use at the international level.
The first roadmaps for Europe and Japan, launched at the Global Climate Action Energy Day in Glasgow, show the ten key actions and timelines for their implementation in areas such as cost reduction, demand growth, international standards, infrastructure and technology development. (Scope: 44 pages)​

Publisher
IRENA, World Economic Forum, Accenture (11-2021)

Created by
Herib Blanco, Emanuele Bianco, Barbara Jinks, Jeffrey Lu (IRENA); Noam Boussidan (World Economic Forum); Melissa Stark, Catherine O'Brien, William Hoare (Accenture)

Shortly
The Chamber of Foreign Trade (AHK) Chile has published a study on the use of green hydrogen to reduce the share of current diesel energy supply for three isolated power grids in Chile. The aim was to demonstrate the potential in off-grid applications. A network on the island of Melinka (installed capacity below 1,5 megawatts), a medium-sized power network (Aysén, between 1,5 MW and 200 MW) and the industrial island network of the salmon producer Multiexport were examined. In addition, a study by the Department of Energy identified 24.556 homes (equivalent to approximately 75.000 people) across the country without access to electricity. Here, the expansion of decentralized energy systems based on renewable energies can make a significant contribution to driving further electrification and decarbonizing the networks, which are often supplied decentrally via diesel generators. Thanks to the “excellent conditions for renewable energies”, Chile has the opportunity to produce hydrogen safely, with low emissions and competitively. (Scope: 89 pages)

Publisher
Chamber of Foreign Trade Chile (11-2021)

Created by
Christoph Meyer, Mar Ortiz, Annika Schüttler (all AHK Chile)

Shortly
Currently, 17 governments have published hydrogen strategies, and more than 20 governments have announced that they are working on them. Hydrogen demand was 2020 million tons in 90, virtually all destined for refining and industrial applications and produced almost entirely from fossil fuels, resulting in almost 900 million tons of CO2 emissions. Global electrolyzer capacity has doubled over the past five years, reaching just over 2021 MW in mid-300. Around 350 projects currently under development could increase global capacity to 2030 GW by 54. Another 40 projects with a capacity of more than 35 GW are in early stages of development.
Europe is leading the adoption of electrolyzers, with 40 percent of the world's installed capacity. Australia could catch up with Europe in a few years; Large capacities are also expected to be built up in Latin America and the Middle East, especially for exports. China got off to a slow start, but the number of announced projects is increasing quickly. The United States is increasing its ambitions.
The countries with hydrogen strategies have committed at least $37 billion; the private sector has announced additional investments of $300 billion. To get the hydrogen sector off the ground, investments of $2030 billion in low-carbon hydrogen supply and use are required by 1.200. Currently, producing hydrogen from fossil fuels is the cheapest option. Depending on regional natural gas prices, costs range between $0,5 and $1,7 per kilogram. Green hydrogen costs three to eight dollars per kilogram.
The report is a result of the cross-country “Clean Energy Ministerial Hydrogen Initiative” (CEM H2I), which is coordinated by the IEA. It is intended to inform players in the energy sector about the status and future prospects of hydrogen. (Scope: 224 pages)

Publisher
International Energy Agency IEA (October 2021)

Created by
International Energy Agency (IEA)

Shortly
By using renewable instead of fossil-based CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) or LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), greenhouse gas emissions in road freight transport could be reduced by around 50 to 80 percent; in shipping, the use of renewable methane would bring about a reduction of 35 to 80 percent. In order to achieve a greenhouse gas reduction of over 80 percent, “upstream emissions would also have to be further reduced in the future.” According to the study, “the majority of the potential that can be mobilized is still unused.” Due to the age structure, the biogas plants in Germany would increasingly be excluded from the EEG remuneration and would be able to make biogas available for the transport sector. In addition, reference is made to the enormous untapped potential of biomethane, which can be produced from residues such as straw or manure.
The mobilizable potential of renewable methane produced in Germany would significantly exceed the demand for natural gas in the fuel segments examined by 2030. Biomethane is not only the cheapest advanced biofuel, but also the only one that is currently available on the market in the required quantities. However, renewable methane generally leads to higher costs than fossil natural gas, so that “a substitution would not take place purely cost-driven and without a regulatory framework”. Due to the lack of regulatory requirements and incentives for use in shipping, scientists do not assume that large quantities of fossil LNG will be replaced by renewable methane in the foreseeable future. (81 pages).

Publisher
NOW GmbH (10-2021)

Created by
Sebastian Timmerberg, Tjerk Zitscher, Alexander Kirsten, Ulf Frühling, Martin Kaltschmitt (Institute for Environmental Technology and Energy Economics at the TU Hamburg)

Shortly
This Ariadne study examines how structural change towards climate neutrality in 2045 can succeed across all sectors as part of the federally funded Copernicus projects. In politics, it is often underestimated how profound the necessary transformation to climate neutrality in 2045 is. Renewable electricity, green hydrogen, green e-fuels and sustainably produced biomass are increasingly replacing fossil fuels. However, this is offset by long-lasting existing infrastructure, building or vehicle stocks and industrial facilities. Ten models are compared, six scenarios are calculated and findings on transformation paths, scope and bottlenecks are presented. Among other things, electricity generation from wind and solar must be around 2030 percent larger by 50 than previously targeted. The annual renovation rate in existing buildings would have to rise to 2030 to 1,5 percent by 2 and electrification in passenger transport would have to be around 40 percent higher. (Scope: 366 pages)

Publisher
Copernicus Project Ariadne / Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (October 2021)

Created by
more than 50 researchers from more than ten institutes

Shortly
Both the hydrogen combustion engine (H2 engine) and the fuel cell drive (H2-BZ) have potential in heavy-duty long-distance transport. The H2 engine is a useful addition to the fuel cell drive in the short to medium term. In the long term, fuel cells have more potential in the heavy commercial vehicle segment. Both drive technologies could be technically implemented by 2025. (Scope: 100 pages)

Publisher
E-Mobil BW GmbH – State agency for new mobility solutions and automotive Baden-Württemberg (July 2021)

Created by
AVL List GmbH / Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW)

Shortly
In a short study, the Swiss Energy Foundation SES analyzed the status and development of solar and wind energy production in the 27 states of the European Union plus Great Britain and Switzerland. Although one focus of the study is to place Switzerland in a European context, the comparisons reveal interesting data and connections in the EU, such as the extent of the availability of environmentally friendly electricity (for example for the production of green hydrogen). A per capita comparison for 2020 shows that Switzerland ranks far behind. Compared to the EU as a whole, the country ranks 24th out of 29 (Denmark 1st, Latvia 29th, Germany 4th). While the expansion of wind energy is stagnating in Switzerland, the expansion of solar energy is continuously increasing, but at a low level. (16 pages)

Publisher
Swiss Energy Foundation SES (June 2021)

Created by
Felix Nipkow, Tonja Iten

Shortly
The costs of generating electricity from renewable energies have fallen sharply in the last ten years, for photovoltaics on an industrial scale, for example, by 2010 percent between 2020 and 85. The operating costs of 800 GW of existing coal-fired power plants are higher than those of new solar and onshore wind plants. Replacing these coal plants would reduce annual system costs by $32 billion per year and reduce annual CO2 emissions by about three gigatons of CO2. As the electricity production costs of renewables fall, the costs of producing green hydrogen also fall. Taking into account the current costs of PV and onshore wind, hydrogen could potentially be produced in Saudi Arabia for $1,62 per kilogram. The study deals with the costs of wind power, photovoltaics, CPV, hydropower, geothermal energy and bioenergy in individual chapters. (Scope: 180 pages)

Publisher
International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA (June 2021)

Created by
IRENA with the collaboration of numerous universities, research institutes, companies and organizations

Shortly
The intensive integration of hydrogen into the energy system and industry is the economically cost-optimal option for achieving the climate goals. To achieve this, around 62 GW of electrical power would have to be built on electrolysers. Germany will not be able to supply itself completely with sustainably produced hydrogen. More than half of the hydrogen required has to be imported.
In the future, hydrogen will be produced in countries rich in sun and wind and traded globally. Gas has the potential to become the new energy medium of the energy transition and to replace oil and coal trade flows. In addition to Germany, almost all large industrial countries will have to import hydrogen in the future. A realistic import price for Germany in 2050 would be 3,60 euros per kilogram. A kilogram of hydrogen currently costs 9,50 euros at the gas station.
Logistically, most of the infrastructure that already exists for the transport of natural gas can be used. The salt caverns in northern Germany are ideal for using as hydrogen storage. Germany could become Europe's hydrogen storage facility. In addition to Germany and Europe, the industrialized countries of China, Japan and the US state of California are also being examined. (Scope: 50 pages)

Publisher
Umlaut Energy GmbH (02-20; since October 2021 Accenture Industry)

Created by
Felix Schimek, Thomas Nauhauser, Chistian Hille (all Umlaut), Martin Robinius, Detlef Stolten (both Energy Transition Consulting)