Green hydrogen is gaining unprecedented traction in Europe and throughout the world, with the majority of nations aiming for climate neutrality by 2050, forcing Europe to speed up its energy transition and cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent over the next decade.
The transition to a low-carbon economy is both a necessary task and a tremendous opportunity for our society to achieve a better future. Hydrogen, whether blue or green, may already play a key role in the decarbonization process, allowing economic sectors such as power production, industry, transportation, and buildings to drastically cut carbon emissions.
The goal is to expand green hydrogen production from zero-emission power sources including renewable and nuclear energy while also speeding up the implementation of hydrogen-based applications.
Hydrogen makes up less than 2% of Europe’s current energy usage and is mostly utilized to make chemical goods like plastics and fertilizers. Natural gas now provides 96 percent of hydrogen production.
In order to make green hydrogen economically viable in Europe, two major hurdles must be overcome: first, lowering the cost of the electrolysis process, and second, establishing the infrastructure for hydrogen transportation.
With the announcement of the Hydrogen Strategy, Europe has taken a major step toward making the hydrogen economy a reality. The continent outlined its vision for hydrogen growth and listed a number of essential initiatives.
The European Union has laid out three strategic stages for the period up to 2050, and hydrogen, which presently accounts for less than 2% of Europe’s energy mix, is predicted to account for almost 14% by then.
In sectors such as heavy vehicle transportation and energy-intensive industrial processes, the roadmap aims to create a framework that will enable the hydrogen market; The European Union is counting on green hydrogen from renewable energy sources to play a major role in decarbonizing; Where other alternatives may not be feasible or may be more expensive, the roadmap aims to create a framework that will enable the hydrogen market.
In addition to decreasing emissions, hydrogen provides a solution to decarbonize hard-to-reduce industries. By 2050, demand for fossil fuels will decline by 517,000 barrels per day, while energy from renewables will grow by 813,000 barrels per day.
Green hydrogen may be made via electrolysis, which uses renewable power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Renewable hydrogen can be used to replace fossil hydrogen in industrial operations or to launch new goods like green fertilizers and steel.
Clean hydrogen can be used in transportation, particularly in heavy and long-distance trucks, buses, ships, and planes, and is compatible with the electricity sector, which is increasingly dominated by renewable energy generation; it provides long-term and large-scale storage, as well as adding flexibility to the power system.
Green hydrogen can be used to assist balance power supply and demand in European Union isolated or stand-alone areas, or for specialized, locally concentrated usage in a city or other stand-alone region.
Hydrogen will play a key role in the EU’s overall energy system integration strategy; the Commission adopted a new ad hoc strategy on hydrogen in Europe in 2020, which brings together various courses of action ranging from research and innovation to production and infrastructure, as well as an international dimension.
The plan will look at how green hydrogen production and consumption may help the EU economy decarbonize in a cost-effective manner, in line with the European Green Deal, as well as aid in the economic recovery following “Covid-19.”
All data and forward-looking research show that fossil fuels will continue to play a significant part in the global energy mix in the next decades, implying that the EU’s carbon-neutral goal would be difficult to reach just through increasing electricity use.
Converting renewable energy sources to hydrogen is one possible answer; processed hydrogen produces high heat that may be utilized in transportation as a fuel, as well as in industries and fertilizers.
Hydrogen storage capabilities are especially beneficial for power grids because it allows renewable energy to be stored not only in large quantities but also for long periods of time. This means that hydrogen can help improve energy system resilience by balancing supply and demand, as well as boost energy efficiency across Europe.
The European Union has presented a hydrogen strategy to its member states, and many other nations in the area have drawn up similar road maps; these maps lay out a ten-year plan for advancing hydrogen’s widespread usage as a way of achieving carbon-neutral goals.
• The Republic of France
It intends to invest €7 billion ($7.88 billion) on a 6.5 GW electrolyzer by 2030, with €2 billion ($2.25 billion) available in 2021-2022.
• The German Democratic Republic
The strategy asks for an investment of €7 billion ($7.88 billion) in local businesses and research, with an emphasis on green hydrogen, with a goal of 5 GW of electrolysis by 2030 and another 5 GW by 2035-2040.
• The Netherlands
It plans to install 500 megawatts of electrolyzers by 2025 and 3 to 4 gigawatts by 2030. The 60-point plan calls for a 4 GW electrolysis objective by 2030, underpinned by a system of origin guarantees and green hydrogen quotas for industry. The proposal is expected to cost 9.8 billion euros ($11.03 billion) over ten years, with the majority of the money coming from the private sector.
• British Virgin Islands
The strategy calls for a 5 GW output target by 2030, as well as support for both green and blue hydrogen production.
• The country of Portugal
The plan is for 2-2.5 GW of electrolysis by 2030, growing to 5 GW by 2050, and for 10-15% of hydrogen to be dependent on the gas grid by 2030, with the objective of reaching 75-80 percent by 2050.
• By 2030, Italy will have 5 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity and a 2% share of hydrogen in final energy consumption.
• Austria’s government will invest 500 million euros ($562.95 million) in green hydrogen projects by 2030 to assist decarbonize sectors including steel.
The European Union’s decarbonization ambitions need major hydrogen demand absorption and the creation of new hydrogen projects; the Commission’s Energy Committee is attempting to guide investment in order to make hydrogen more cost-effective.
Today’s anticipated prices for hydrogen from fossil fuels are around 1.5 euros ($1.69)/kg, 2 euros ($2.25)/kg for hydrogen from fossil fuels utilizing CCS, and 2.5-5.5 euros (-2.81 – $6.19/kg for hydrogen from renewables.
Carbon pricing in the range of €55-90 ($61.92-101.33) per tonne of CO2 would be necessary, according to the concept, to make hydrogen derived from fossil fuels with carbon capture competitive with hydrogen derived from fossil fuels.
Renewable hydrogen, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly affordable. For example, in the last ten years, the cost of decomposing water for its principal components (oxygen and hydrogen) has decreased by approximately 60%, and it is predicted to half by 2030.
Water analysis costs are predicted to drop from €900 ($1013.31)/kW to €450 ($506.65)/kW or less after 2030, and to €180 ($202.66)/kW after a year. 2040, according to the panel. This must be accompanied with an enabling legislative environment, the development of vital markets, a persistent quest for innovation, and broad infrastructure networks with national and international collaboration.
The European Commission’s hydrogen strategy, which was established for a climate-neutral Europe following the announcement of a number of national hydrogen strategies (e.g., Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal), lays out the EU’s overall vision for using hydrogen to decarbonize a variety of sectors across Europe.
By 2050, hydrogen is predicted to meet at least 13% of Europe’s ultimate energy requirement.
The European Commission is appealing to the public and private sectors to help it in accomplishing the European Green Deal and a sustainable energy transition in Europe.
The plan establishes a specific policy framework within which the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (“the Alliance”) establishes an investment agenda and project pipeline; both strategies will help to achieve the Sustainable Development Aims and the Paris Agreement’s goals.
