Covestro, a chemical manufacturer, has ambitious goals to reduce CO2 emissions in the future. It plans to utilize green hydrogen extensively, with production taking place in Australia.
The chemical firm Covestro, based in Leverkusen, intends to employ Australian hydrogen generated with minimal environmental impact at its facilities in Asia, North America, and Europe. A long-term supply arrangement with Australian company Fortescue Future Industries is in the works (FFI). A “more comprehensive strategic relationship” should come from the corporations’ non-binding declaration of purpose. The Australian mining firm Fortescue Metals Group includes FFI.
Up to 100,000 tons of green hydrogen and hydrogen compounds like ammonia can be contained in FFI shipments per year. The initial delivery is expected in 2024. The businesses gave no details on the anticipated financial value of the delivery. When the contract may be signed was also uncertain.
For instance, the industry organization VCI estimates that the German chemical sector requires one million tons of hydrogen annually in a position paper that was issued in 2020. About 33,000-kilowatt hours of energy are contained in one ton of hydrogen.
The next step is to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen. This calls for the use of renewable energy sources and the use of specialized ships to convey the necessary electricity.
Australia should be perfect for creating the significant quantities of energy required for hydrogen generation due to the massive amounts of land that have not yet been utilized. Compared to Germany, the continent has a lot more sunshine each year, and this isn’t only due of the warmer climate. Due it is closeness to the equator, the Sun also beams brighter.
According to the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, only owing to climatic variations alone, Australia would need to build three times as much capacity in order to be able to produce the same amount of energy as Germany. the Federal Ministry of Education, as an illustration.
On the other hand, considering that roughly 40% of the electricity consumed during electrolysis in Germany is wasted, it is likely too valuable to be used for the creation of hydrogen. Therefore, for the sake of efficiency, it is advised to consume solar energy produced in Germany directly.
