Browsing: Analysis

The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU) in Germany has raised concerns over the feasibility of the government’s plans to switch to hydrogen gas networks in 2024. VKU Managing Director Ingbert Liebing has warned that the “rigid specifications” in the current draft of the Building Energy Act (GEG) could lead to a failure of the heat transition plans of the Federal Government. Liebing criticized the “rigid requirements” for around 500 municipal utilities with regard to gas and district heating, which he believes are counterproductive and have the opposite effect.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has given instructions for the development of a “Morocco Offer” in the green hydrogen sector, with the aim of accelerating the process of decarbonization of the Moroccan economy.

The German Environmental Aid (DUH) has raised concerns that loopholes in the upcoming heating replacement could delay the end of fossil fuel systems and cost consumers dearly. The DUH, along with other organizations, has warned that the approval of “H2-ready” devices, which are gas heaters that can be converted to hydrogen, may lead to the continuation of gas heating systems.

Wind power will soon become a more reliable source of electricity thanks to new technologies. Several parties are now working on the synthesis and storage of hydrogen using wind energy so that extra energy can be used when the wind is not blowing.

In order to simplify the integration of renewable and low-carbon gases into the EU gas market, the energy ministers of the EU came to an agreement on Tuesday to develop the market for “low-carbon” hydrogen, such as that produced by nuclear energy.

According to research from Rystad Energy, where 52 projects totaling 114 gigawatts of capacity are now in the pipeline, Africa is outpacing Australia in terms of actual plans for producing green hydrogen.

A “net-zero emissions by 2050” scenario, like that described in the International Energy Agency (IEA) roadmap, calls for an unprecedented development of renewable energies, with increasing electrification of uses, increased energy efficiency, and smart energy grids, the development of nuclear power, the massive development of hydrogen as a carbon-free energy and chemical carrier, and the various methods for capturing carbon or offsetting its emissions in other ways.

The Groningen company Noordgastransport is looking into the viability of moving renewable hydrogen through their existing natural gas pipelines. They claim that this costs less than 10% of what it would build a brand-new network.

Uruguay, the country with the second-highest percentage of variable renewable energies (such as solar and wind) in the world’s electricity generation, was one of the special guests at the most recent international conference on renewable energies, which was held in Madrid at the end of February.

A landmark piece of legislation containing $369 billion in investment to combat climate change was approved by the White House in August. An important tax credit in that historic law was one for producing hydrogen in environmentally friendly ways.