Hydrogen is not an end in itself, but an important building block for the transition to climate-friendlier infrastructures. An absolute prerequisite for this is the additional expansion of renewable energies. The recent decision by the EU Parliament has left this hanging in the balance.
For the climate-friendly transformation, green hydrogen is an essential factor. It enables some industrial applications and parts of the transport sector to be defossilized or decarbonized. But: To be able to produce green hydrogen, an additional and faster expansion of renewable energies is urgently required. However, a corresponding proposal submitted by the EU Commission in May 2022 was rejected by the EU Parliament. Whether the additional renewable energies so urgently needed for hydrogen production will be available is therefore a question for the time being.
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If no additional renewable energy resources are created, to draw on already existing ones would require taking away from the electric power sector. This would, on the one hand, reduce the overall energy efficiency, since the conversion of electricity into hydrogen is accompanied with efficiency losses. On the other hand, the quantities of electricity used for hydrogen production in the power sector would have to be partially replaced through fossil energies, which is counterproductive to CO2 reduction and therefore to meeting the legally set climate targets for Germany.
In the current situation and against the background of the fossil energy crisis resulting from the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine, it is imperative to not promote fossil structures that are not urgently required for security of energy supply.
The hydrogen economy must additionally be viewed against the backdrop of the energy policy triad of prosperity, energy security and climate protection. This triad must be approached intelligently. The hydrogen economy certainly offers potential in this, since it is sometimes the only decarbonization and defossilization option for important applications in the industrial and transport sectors. For example, it offers immense opportunities as a storage and flexibility option for the power sector and as a substitute for the CO2-intensive blast furnace process in the steel industry. Furthermore, a variety of jobs and export opportunities for clean technologies can be created.
For assurance of planning and investment security, producers of hydrogen and its derivatives have been placed on a fixed roadmap (Hydrogen Roadmap Europe), by which stakeholders can avoid bad investments as well. A flexible use of electrolyzers can ensure that hydrogen is produced with low emissions and at low cost. Legacy clauses – with exemption periods for plants built in the early term as well as sensible entry paths into the regulations for additional renewable energies – could combine a quick ramp-up of the hydrogen economy with possibilities for long-term planning.
If the EU Parliament decides to relax the rules on hydrogen production, though, this could drive up electricity prices and thus the production costs of hydrogen even further. Because: The electricity withdrawn as a result would then have to be replenished through expensive natural gas-fired power plants, which in turn would increase the cost of renewably produced hydrogen.
In addition to criteria for electricity obtainment, other sustainability criteria must also be set – and globally. We now have the opportunity to shape and establish a global hydrogen economy that contributes locally and internationally to the achievement of climate targets and sustainable development goals (SDGs), creates value in all partner countries and strengthens international relations. For this, it is crucial that the EU cooperates with all relevant actors in the partner countries to unite the respective interests in the best possible way.
We need climate protection in order to secure our economy in the long term. In short: On a Rhine without water, we will not be able to transport goods efficiently. We must not forget one thing: Climate protection today is always cheaper than climate protection tomorrow. Therefore, we should now implement serious climate protection measures as quickly as possible. We need a rapid ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in order to achieve the climate targets. To this end, we should in particular accelerate and incorporate more in the expansion of renewable energies.
Author: Ulrike Hinz, WWF Deutschland, Berlin, ulrike.hinz@wwf.de
Swiss energy concern Axpo had intended to build a hydrogen production facility at the Eglisau-Glattfelden hydroelectric power plant. However the project, which was to be located directly on the German-Swiss border, has now been stopped due to complaints about the granting of a special license.
The hydrogen plant was expected to have a capacity of over 2.5 megawatts and produce around 350 metric tons of green hydrogen annually. Sufficient to save approximately 1.5 million liters of diesel from road transport every year, according to the supplier’s calculations. The plant could have been enlarged to 5 megawatts as demand increased. Plans indicated potential for several refueling stations in the area to be supplied with hydrogen.
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Nevertheless, in order for construction work in Eglisau-Glattfelden to go ahead, an existing building belonging to the power plant, located outside the construction area, would have needed to be demolished and replaced. To allow this to happen, Axpo had submitted an application for a special license which was then approved by the local authority. This prompted objections to be lodged by three private individuals at the court of appeal for building matters in the canton of Zürich, which then upheld their complaints. It was said that there are “no particularly significant and objective grounds” for conferring the special license. The public interest in producing energy here was purportedly given less weight by the court than the anticipated traffic noise from trucks resulting from the project.
Commenting on the decision, Guy Bühler, project lead at Axpo, warned: “The decision to narrowly interpret the law even in the case of an environmentally beneficial plant that is in line with the 2050 energy strategy will hamper decarbonization efforts.” He added: “We very much regret that we will once again be prevented from making a greater contribution to Switzerland’s decarbonization.”
Despite the project coming to an abrupt halt, Axpo intends to proceed with other building plans involving green hydrogen and complete further projects in Switzerland. Bühler now sees legislators as bearing responsibility. “Conditions need to be created that enable innovative projects to be carried out and thus make it possible to channel urgently needed investment into the energy transition.”
The German hydrogen and fuel cell association DWV elected a new executive committee in early December, thus continuing its rejuvenation. From the original committee lineup there now only remains Oliver Weinmann who will lead the association’s executive body for another two years. Silke Frank was reconfirmed as vice president. Uwe Ringel resumes the role of second vice, representing the interests of the German gas and water industries association DVGW within the DWV. Christopher Hebling from Fraunhofer ISE will no longer serve as deputy but stays on the committee as the last remaining representative from a research facility.
Bowing out from the executive body are Birgit Scheppat from RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Johannes Töpler from Esslingen University, DWV founder member Reinhold Wurster from the company Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik and Alexander Dyck from the German Aerospace Center, although all of them had stood as candidates. The stepping out of Scheppat and Töpler marks the departure of two colleagues from the association’s leadership who played a significant role in shaping the hydrogen education agenda over past decades. Which post will tackle education issues as part of the association’s remit in future is uncertain.
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Candidates from large corporations in particular were elected by a clear margin – evidence of the association’s increasing engagement in industry matters as well as lobbying work. This resulted in several new representatives from the business community joining the ranks, for example Jürgen Guldner from BMW, Dirk Graszt from Clean Logistics and Heinrich Gärtner from GP. Despite the admission of Manuela Heise from Deutsche Kreditbank, the proportion of women on the DWV executive committee is still low at 14 percent.
The collaboration between the DWV and the DVGW, however, is drawing to a close. The word from membership circles is that the DVGW ended its cooperation by submitting a written termination notice. In view of the significant sums of money which the DWV has received as part of the alliance and will continue to do so until the end of 2023, a question mark now hangs over how the financial situation will play out going forward given the association’s large and expensive offices in a prime location in central Berlin and much higher numbers of staff.
Japan has set itself the goal of becoming the first hydrogen economy in the world. What has been achieved since the country submitted the world’s first national hydrogen plan in 2017? The H2 user base was further expanded, and the government under Kishida is strongly investing in trailblazing pilot projects. However, the focus remains on the import of blue hydrogen. An update since the H2-international report from July 2021.
A milestone in the expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure actually slated for 2021 was reached by Japan in autumn 2022. As of October, 163 hydrogen fueling stations are in operation. A doubling to 320 stations by 2025 is planned, which is to be 900 by 2040. In April 2022, there were nearly 5,270 fuel cell vehicles on the road in Japan. By 2025, according to the energy expansion plans of the government, it is to be however 200,000, and then 80,000 by 2040. Whether the 430,000 mini CHP Ene-Farm units installed in Japan will really be converted to run on hydrogen instead of natural gas sometime in the future is an open question.
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A national electrolysis capacity of 15 to 30 GW is to be built up between 2030 and 2050. The system costs for hydrogen production by electrolysis from renewable energies are to be decreased to 52,000 yen, or about 360 euros, per kW by 2030. The planned massive expansion of capacities for offshore and coastal wind power generation in Japan could help in this. Japan is still clearly lagging behind the EU and China in the expansion of domestic production of green hydrogen.
With the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050, the government under prime minister of Japan Fumio Kishida is also further heavily investing in the nation’s transition to a “hydrogen society.” “Hydrogen is the key to sustainable development,” stated Eiji Ohira, director general of the hydrogen and fuel cell division of NEDO, Japan’s energy technology agency, at the World Energy Storage Day event recently held in India.
From the Green Innovation Fund of NEDO, 70 billion yen is to flow into development of large electrolyzer projects for hydrogen production, 300 billion yen into expansion of the supply chain, including imports by H2 tankers as well as hydrogen transport and liquefaction technologies. Furthermore, 26 billion yen will go towards the support of demonstration projects for H2 blending in gas turbines – including those abroad.
German-Japanese project in Lingen
With support from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan, the world’s first industrial-scale hydrogen-capable gas turbine was built in Lingen, Germany. Using the turbine from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the conversion of hydrogen back into electricity is to be tested in the natural gas-fired power plant RWE Gaskraftwerk Emsland. The project is one of the first worldwide in which a gas turbine is converting 100 percent hydrogen into electricity on a large industrial scale. The plant with a capacity of 34 megawatts could go into operation mid-2024. In the course of the project, two fuel cell systems developed by Kawasaki are to be employed. The 1 MW versions of both were successfully tested in a demo project in Kobe, Japan. In Lingen, these technological principles will be scaled to industrial level for the first time.
Hydrogen – and transitionally ammonia – is to be a “decarbonized electricity source” that covers ten percent of Japan’s electricity demand by 2050. However, hydrogen is also intended to decarbonize fossil energy production. Old coal plants in Japan are to be converted to operate with a mixture of coal and hydrogen so that they can continue to be run. The advantage for energy companies is that the power plants that would have had to be shut down in view of the CO2 reduction targets will be able to continue operating.
Continued focus on blue hydrogen
On the supply side, the Japanese government is continuing to concentrate on blue hydrogen, which although produced with fossil fuels, can be climate neutral or at least low-carbon with the use of technologies for CO2 capture and storage (CCU/CCS, see H2-international August 2021). However, there is uncertainty whether CCUS technologies (carbon capture, utilization and storage) are cost-effective enough and whether there is enough storage capacity within the country at any rate. Suitable geological formations are situated far from industrial centers, which makes the transport expensive. Some are also subject to earthquakes.
Furthermore, this makes Japan again dependent on energy imports, so the problem of energy security, which has been even higher on the political agenda since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is not solved. In terms of decarbonization, this is not really progress.
New developments in the H2 demo projects
On the Fukushima Hydrogen Research Field (FH2R) in the coastal town of Namie now stands a 10-MW electrolyzer from Asahi Kasei as well as a 20-MW and 100-MW solar park. In a model project, the locally generated hydrogen is being supplied via a distribution grid to 22 buildings, one school, several supermarkets and fueling stations that can supply 100 fuel cell buses. In the major cities Fukushima and Kōriyama, one to one-and-a-half hours away, the hydrogen is being used as well – in mobile applications enabled by refueling stations and the stationary applications of a public park and a wholesale market. In the currently running second phase of the project, the prefecture is to be further expanded into an “innovation hub” for the hydrogen society, and more and more regional businesses and research institutes will be integrated.
Expanded will also be the H2 information and demonstration center Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Valley, located just outside of Kōfu, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture. Here on Mount Komekura is a 10-MW solar park, the 1.5-MW electrolyzer from Kobelco, a hydrogen fueling station and another electrolyzer that was installed this year. In several expansion stages, the electrolyzer from Hitachi Zosen is to be expanded to a total capacity of 16 MW and to supply 450,000 Nm3 of hydrogen per year by 2025.
The fuel cell nanomaterials research center and the clean energy research center at the university there in Yamanashi belong to the world’s leading and most respected institutions in the field of materials innovation for fuel cell technology. The technical chemistry institute at TU Braunschweig in Germany (Institut für Technische Chemie und Technische Elektrokatalyse, ITEC) has long maintained close relations with the hydrogen research center in Kōfu. Together with Yamanashi University, it is currently establishing a German-Japanese joint fuel cell technology laboratory. The aim is to optimize water electrolysis, electrocatalysis and hydrogen applications in the field of mobility, particularly through materials innovation.
FC Expo
In Kōfu mid-March 2023, when the FC Expo in Tokyo will be held, is planned a German-Japanese expert workshop on electrolysis technology organized by NEDO and NOW GmbH.
The idea of hydrogen valleys – regions in which the development of hydrogen technology is specifically promoted – is not new in Poland. There are already a number of projects of this kind, which are not infrequently accompanied by economic development funding for former coal-mining regions. Now, the sixth hydrogen support region throughout northwestern Poland is to appear.
The decision for a hydrogen valley in Usedom and Wolin is, in comparison to the other valleys, a special case in Polish hydrogen policy. The area is relatively small, the maritime economy is the main focus and the gas pipeline, in contrast to the other support regions, plays a central role here.
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The Usedom-Wolin hydrogen valley wants to take full advantage of the natural features and infrastructure of the region. The import and production of hydrogen is therefore aimed at supplying the ships on the islands of Usedom and Wolin with this raw material.
The MoU for founding the Usedom-Wolinski Hydrogen Valley (Polish name) was signed on June 3rd, 2022. “The memorandum of understanding is an expression of a common understanding of the necessity to take measures for achieving climate neutrality and for establishing a local low-carbon economy with sustainable development, where focus shall lie on the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier in zero-emission and low-emission land and maritime transport, including its storage and the construction of hydrogen-powered ships,” according to a publication about it from the city administration.
With political backing
The hydrogen support region specially created around the city of Świnoujście (German: Swinemünde) and its direct neighbors has had the full support of the respective municipal politicians right from the start. As Janusz Żmurkiewicz, mayor of the independent city of Świnoujście stated, “Our local government has a partnership role in this. From the beginning, we have supported the activities for the realization of the project. One of these was the signing of a memorandum of understanding. Because of its location, Świnoujście is predestined for the realization of this type of project. We have buildable land where this kind of activity could find its place. In the immediate vicinity of these sites is a liquefied natural gas terminal, which could be a hydrogen source, so we can expect – as soon as the project is realized –higher revenues and a larger city budget.”
As part of the financial safeguards for the support region, a cooperation agreement with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) was signed. BGK is implementing on behalf of the Polish government the so-called 3W strategy: woda–wodór–węgiel (water–hydrogen–carbon). This entails the introduction of innovations in the management of water resources, the use of hydrogen as part of the clean energy transition and the development of modern carbon technologies for the development of innovative materials and technologies.
At the center of the economic implementation and utilization is the company EcoenergyH2, which intends to realize H2 production and storage, export and import of liquid hydrogen, and distribution of hydrogen at this site. The company wants to bundle the synergies of the maritime region for the purpose of a hydrogen economy. This mainly means the optimal combining of the capabilities of the conventional port, the shipyard industry and the LNG terminal infrastructure there.
For Piotr Kosowicz, owner of EcoenergyH2, the location has a special advantage over the other Polish hydrogen regions. Świnoujście lies right on the border with Germany, which according to Kosowicz, is the country where the hydrogen industry is developing fastest.
Pyrolysis instead of electrolysis
In the business model of EcoenergyH2, electrolysis will not have a part in the hydrogen production for the time being, since Kosowicz wants to first concentrate on pyrolysis of natural gas. For this, Usedom and Wolin offer good preconditions. Via the liquefied gas terminal on site, natural gas can be imported, but hydrogen can also be exported. Another possible scenario in the future is that hydrogen is transported into Poland through this terminal. The storage facilities sitting on the island of Wolin will likely serve as supply reservoirs for the hydrogen project. The transport of hydrogen is to be possible with tank trucks on road or rail and through gas lines. The connections of the transmission grid of the LNG terminal to the national transmission grid could be used to feed hydrogen directly into the natural gas grid. In addition, hydrogen refueling stations for trucks and ships will also be built.
On-site hydrogen fueling stations are to be provided for direct refueling of cars and trucks: “Our end user is an everyday user of energy systems. Therefore, it is important that in the implementation of this project, production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources at a marketable price is front and center,” stated Kosowicz.
The business plan of EcoEnergyH2 and thus the prospects of success for the entire Baltic Hydrogen Valley, however, depend to a large extent on the price and availability of natural gas. This raw material could be imported in this case, since the infrastructure of gas ports allows it. The production of a limited amount of gas on site, on the island of Usedom, should also not be completely ruled out. Up until August 2022, the Polish petroleum and natural gas company PGNiG still had not been given approval for fuel gas production at this site, yet the French company Engie applied for approval for production on the German side of the island. The local community, however, passed on this opportunity. According to the estimations of Engie, the gas field is located north of the beach of Heringsdorf at a depth of 2,600 meters, which means that part of the field could already be on the Polish side of the border. In an interview with the online hydrogen academy Wasserstoff-Akademie, Piotr Kosowicz ruled out gas production on the island of Usedom, however, as he feels that the reserves are too small.
Author: Aleksandra Fedorska
Image: Alumare shipyard – EcoEnergyH2 headquarters in the port of Świnoujście
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