Germany’s natural gas lobby sought 800 million euros ($902.56 million) in sponsorship to build plants that convert natural gas to hydrogen and separate out the harmful carbon, putting the new government’s climate goals to the test.
The newly sworn-in government unveiled bold intentions to ramp up climate protection measures, raising worries about their feasibility in practice.
The government’s energy goals require alternatives to fossil fuels and keep the door open for innovative technologies that avoid carbon emissions, such as a technology for producing “turquoise” hydrogen.
Turquoise hydrogen is produced through methane pyrolysis, a technology that is still in its infancy but has the potential to be very successful, according to several industry players, including Wintershall Dea (WINT.UL), which collaborates on pyrolysis with gas grid company VNG, which is majority owned by EnBW (EBKG.DE), and British firm Hiiroc, based in Hull.
The method converts methane in natural gas to gaseous hydrogen in a vacuum to create solid carbon that can be utilized in a variety of applications, including pigment and tyre manufacturing.
The pyrolysis technique of hydrogen generation complements plans for electrolysis plants to generate “green” hydrogen using zero-carbon wind, solar, or biomass energy.
By 2030, the government intends to have ten gigawatts (GW) of electrolysis capacity.
Kehler stated that the 800 million euros may help construct enough capacity to manufacture 90 terawatt hours (TWh) of turquoise hydrogen every year and could be funded in part by income generated by the government’s mandated carbon emissions permit program.
He noted that the government’s objective of 10 GW of electrolysis would yield only 40 TWh per year.
However, some environmental groups advocating for a more rapid and comprehensive transition away from fossil fuels via zero-carbon energy regard plans to repurpose gas infrastructure for hydrogen as the fossil fuel industry’s last ditch effort to secure its existence.
Legal benevolence Client Earth has urged Berlin’s administration not to “segue into a two-decade relationship with another fossil fuel.”
