The German environmental foundation DBU published a short study in mid-December 2022 which investigated the use of hydrogen for process heat. The organization, working in partnership with the Gelsenkirchen net-zero port initiative, the Wuppertal Institute and Fraunhofer UMSICHT, analyzed the best way for the heating and industrial sector to become climate neutral.

The authors found that: “In addition to electrification with green power, the shift to green hydrogen is shown to be a valid option in many cases. From the initiative’s viewpoint, power grid expansion is therefore equal in priority to the construction of hydrogen infrastructure, which not only supplies major industrial corporations but at the same time enables the early connection of process heat clusters that primarily comprise midsize companies.”

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Lars Baumgürtel, spokesman for the Gelsenkirchen project, said: “Up until now, the electrification of process heat has been the preferred way forward. The study cracks this approach wide open and demonstrates that hydrogen is an equally legitimate alternative. For Germany’s energy transition, it therefore makes sense for many businesses to develop redundant, hybrid systems in parallel.”

Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), Dekarbonisierung der Prozesswärme im Klimahafen Gelsenkirchen, December 2022