Hydrogen energy plays a critical role in the EU’s energy transition system, with natural gas exporters expressing an interest in supplying hydrogen, sometimes via existing infrastructure.
While the EU considers programs aimed at transitioning to “green energy” and phasing out fossil fuels entirely by 2050, hydrocarbon suppliers are also keeping an eye on the pulse and evaluating how to keep up with the trend toward alternative energy. Thus, hydrogen energy has risen to prominence in recent years, alongside other renewable energy technologies.
Major exporters of driving gas have frequently stated their intention to enter the hydrogen supply chain – Russia is exploring hydrogen production projects, while Azerbaijan is developing the infrastructure for hydrogen deliveries via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
For example, Russian Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov stated at an online briefing that Russia is prepared to collaborate with the European Union on hydrogen energy projects, including the Nord Stream 2 gas-to-hydrogen pipeline.
“With regards to the development of hydrogen projects, Russia is prepared to work with the EU and other interested parties in this market to iron out various details,” he said, noting that modern technology enables not only the successful use of hydrogen, but also the mixing of hydrogen with natural gas.
Azerbaijan has also shown a willingness to supply hydrogen to the European Union’s markets. Thus, Murad Heydarov, a member of the TAP consortium’s Board of Directors, previously claimed that work on hydrogen transportation via pipeline is underway.
Additionally, the collaboration plans to conduct a feasibility study for hydrogen transportation via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, according to TAP AG Managing Director Luke Scieppati.
“Hydrogen is one of the new frontiers on which we intend to concentrate our efforts. As a result, we’re doing a feasibility study to determine the amount of hydrogen contained in natural gas that can be transported over our infrastructure “Scieppati stated in an interview with the Italian journal Energia Oltre.
According to him, the Azerbaijani State Oil Company (SOCAR) and the Italian Snam will collaborate on research in the sphere of hydrogen pipeline transportation.
According to Igor Yushk, a senior specialist at the Russian Federation’s National Energy Security Fund, hydrogen will not only be a source of energy for Europeans; it will also serve as an energy storage system.
“Europeans aim to phase out fossil fuels; they have a “green deal” – a decarbonization policy – that states that by 2050, Europe should entirely phase out fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy,” Yushkov told Sputnik Azerbaijan.
That said, the RES, according to the expert, has a significant storage issue. While oil and natural gas may be stored in tanks and natural gas in underground storage, there are issues with storing energy from renewable sources.
“That is, hydrocarbons are energy carriers; they contain energy that is released when they are burned. They are simple to control and store. There is a pile of coal lying around that serves as energy storage until it is burned. It’s more difficult with renewables – because electricity is generated immediately, it’s difficult to store. That is the amount of electricity you receive and the amount you must consume “Yushkov stated.
This issue is expected to be resolved entirely by the use of hydrogen, the expert stated.
For instance, when electricity demand is low at night and a wind farm continues to generate excess energy, a portion of it is meant to produce hydrogen by electrolysis of water. And it will be environmentally friendly, utilizing the most sought-after hydrogen “This hydrogen will be energised, that is, it will store energy. And when additional energy is required, the Europeans will recycle the hydrogen. Thus, hydrogen serves primarily as a storage medium “As Yushkov stated.
According to the expert, the EU realizes that its own hydrogen production will be insufficient and that some hydrogen will almost certainly be imported. And suppliers of natural gas, such as Russia and Azerbaijan, logically propose hydrogen exports.
Yushkov said that Russia and Azerbaijan are large producers and exporters of natural gas, which may be used to make hydrogen, indicating that the countries’ opinions on this issue are quite strong. However, it is unclear if exporting hydrogen will be as profitable as exporting gas, or whether Europeans will be able to totally abandon gas.
“The most frequent way of producing hydrogen is directly from natural gas. It is used to make a variety of different types of hydrogen. If hydrogen is produced using water electrolysis using energy generated by VIA, it is referred to as green hydrogen. If hydrogen is produced from gas – if the hydrogen production process collects and burys the ensuing greenhouse gases – it becomes blue hydrogen. If the hydrogen is not collected, it becomes gray hydrogen “‘He stated.
According to Yushkov, gas producers can manufacture hydrogen and offer it to Europeans who refuse to purchase natural gas.
Additionally, the Europeans state that many power plants will be converted to a gas-hydrogen combination in the first phase, and producers indicate that they are prepared to deliver the gas-hydrogen mixture.
According to Yushkov, the difficulty is not so much with achieving hydrogen energy supply as it is with establishing demand.
“Thus far, there has been a great deal of discussion and development of the hydrogen sector in Europe. However, there is no genuine market for hydrogen “As highlighted by the expert.
Additionally, there is no hydrogen storage system, and most of the debate about hydrogen energy is hypothetical.
“Additionally, producers reply to EU plans with plans and assurances that they will be able to supply them. There is no way of knowing how much hydrogen will cost until there is a market for it. And if you don’t know how much it will cost, how can you make an investment in a hydrogen plant if you don’t know how much money you’ll need to invest to make it profitable? “As Yushkov stated.
