Siemens Gamesa outlining ambitious plan for cost-competitive green hydrogen

Siemens Gamesa released an industry whitepaper titled Unlocking the Green Hydrogen Revolution, outlining an ambitious plan to produce cost-competitive green hydrogen from onshore wind by 2030 and offshore wind by 2035.

Siemens Gamesa advocates for a collaborative approach to both market demand and production scaling, outlining four critical prerequisites for delivering low-cost green hydrogen over the next decade.

Increase the capacity of renewables significantly, as the green hydrogen revolution is reliant on it. By 2050, the globe would require up to 6,000 GW of new installed renewable energy capacity, up from 2,800 GW currently, to meet anticipated hydrogen consumption (500 million tonnes, according to the Hydrogen Council).

Establish a cost-effective demand-side market for green hydrogen in order to reduce equipment, infrastructure, and day-to-day running expenses. Currently, the primary operating cost of green hydrogen production is the electricity used to operate the electrolyzers, therefore lowering energy prices decreases the cost of hydrogen and increases demand.

Invest in supply chain development, as no single vendor can control the full manufacturing and distribution process. At the moment, projects are fragmented and hence expensive, which means that renewable energy firms, electrolyzer manufacturers, network operators, and water treatment specialists must collaborate to create a sustainable supply chain.

Construct the necessary logistics, storage, and distribution infrastructure. Investment in hydrogen pipeline networks is required to fully realize the potential of green hydrogen.

Andreas Nauen, Siemens Gamesa CEO, said, “When it comes to green hydrogen, we need to act now. It took three decades for wind and solar to reach grid parity with fossil fuels, and we cannot afford to wait that long for green hydrogen to reach price parity with fossil-based hydrogen. Wind will play a powerful role in accelerating the production of green hydrogen, which is vital to decarbonizing our economy. Therefore, to unlock the potential of green hydrogen, we need to drive down costs quickly. To do this, we need a consensus between industry, policymakers and investors to rapidly develop the demand-side market, build the supply chain and roll out the necessary infrastructure.”