Green hydrogen is produced with electricity from renewable energy sources. Although this consumes a lot of energy, the energy transition cannot be achieved without green hydrogen. It serves, for example, as a storage and transport medium for renewable energies and as a substitute for fossil fuels. The production and use of green hydrogen is being vigorously promoted in Europe, for example through an agreement between Germany and Canada to promote the hydrogen economy.
Great potential of green hydrogen
Green, clean hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with electricity from renewable sources. Large amounts of energy are needed for its production. Hydrogen plays a significant role in implementing the energy transition and achieving climate neutrality. This is because, both as a storage medium and as a transport medium (or means of transport) for renewable energies, it offers the possibility of balancing out the daily, seasonal or weather-related fluctuations in the generation of wind and solar energy and improving the security of supply in the medium term.
For energy-intensive industries such as chemicals, steel, aviation and shipping, hydrogen can replace fossil fuels and help reduce CO2 emissions in these sectors. Part of the existing natural gas network can be used for the long-distance transport of hydrogen in the future. In the future, modern gas-fired power plants will be powered by green hydrogen1.
There is an international consensus that the energy transition cannot be achieved without hydrogen. However, when it comes to hydrogen, all countries are still at the beginning.
The importance of green hydrogen in Europe
The EU wants to promote the production and use of green hydrogen in Europe. In its Strategic Roadmap for Hydrogen, the EU Commission emphasises that the challenges of producing, storing and transporting hydrogen are not something that can be tackled by companies on the one hand and countries on the other. This can only be done together. It also emphasises the importance of hydrogen for the realisation of the European Green Deal and the energy transition. The EU Roadmap presents a variety of measures, including the definition of the legal framework for a functioning hydrogen market, financial support and financing instruments, infrastructure development, focus on wind and solar energy to produce the green hydrogen, and partnerships with third countries.
In August 2022, Germany and Canada signed an agreement to boost the hydrogen economy and supply hydrogen to Germany as early as 2025.
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