Green hydrogen is considered a central component of the energy transition. A study sees great potential. But there needs to be better cooperation in the EU – and Germany is lagging behind in some things.
A little more than a year ago, on June 30, 2022, the spirit of optimism was palpable at the groundbreaking ceremony on Friesenheim Island in Mannheim: Green hydrogen for the entire Rhine-Neckar region, that is the goal and hope of the hydrogen project there. It is funded, among other things, by the federal government with 100 million euros.
Today the filling and compression plant for the raw material of the future is almost finished. It is expected to go into operation soon, purifying hydrogen and compressing it for filling into tank trucks.
In addition, the hydrogen will also be produced on site. Numerous electrolysers are currently under construction, as are five filling stations where the hydrogen will be charged into buses and logistics vehicles in the future. Everything should be ready in 2024, says Tilman Krauch, chairman of the “Future of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region” association.
“Milestone of the hydrogen technology”
He calls his project a “milestone in hydrogen technology” – “because we can do that here: electrolysis plus distribution plus use plus municipal acceptance.” This is so far unique in Germany.
Krauch, who is also called “Mister Hydrogen” by his colleagues, emphasizes the importance of green hydrogen as a contribution to the energy transition. This can do a lot of things that the battery cannot do, says the expert.
Germany cannot meet demand
The ability to transport and store hydrogen is one of its most important properties. This makes hydrogen usable in industry, among other things, but also in ships, aircraft and larger vehicles.
The potential and need in Germany is huge, says Krauch, especially in the Rhine-Neckar region with its industry. In the future, they would hardly be able to produce that much hydrogen on their own. “We realized that we would have a huge import demand in the region.” That’s why it’s important not only to rely on your own production, says Krauch, but also to build up import capacities for green hydrogen across national borders.
Hydrogen import becomes important
Jakob Wachsmuth from the Karlsruhe Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) also assumes that hydrogen imports will play a major role in the future. He is referring to one Study that he created in cooperation with authors from the RIFS (Research Institute for Sustainability) Potsdam and the German Energy Agency. In the future, Germany will have a demand for renewable energy that is approximately twice as high as it can produce itself.
“We need renewable electricity so that we can use it directly in industry, in heat pumps, and other applications. And if we then want to produce our own hydrogen, then we will quickly reach our limits,” says Wachsmuth, pointing out points out another problem – the difficulties in the current expansion of renewable energies in Germany.
Strategy launched under Merkel
The authors of the study therefore conclude that Germany will continue to be dependent on energy and hydrogen imports in the future. Closer cooperation within the EU is necessary, say the researchers, because Europe will be able to supply itself completely with hydrogen in the future. Countries such as Spain, France and Norway in particular have considerable potential for expansion.
According to the study, the federal government is well advised to focus on expanding an intra-European infrastructure. “Importing via pipeline is always the cheaper option and due to the sufficient potential in Europe, we say, it is important to get this started within the EU as well,” says Wachsmuth.
The authors of the study are calling for the right political and financial course to be set early on. Both the European Union’s funding programs and investments in the individual regions should adapt to the potential shown in the study.
Habeck sees Germany as a pioneer
The Bundestag has now debated the update of the hydrogen strategy. This had already been passed by the Merkel government in 2020 and is now to be continued with a “higher level of ambition,” as Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) emphasizes: “To produce steel that becomes green through hydrogen. To produce chemistry that uses green hydrogen and thus decarbonize, all of this will dramatically increase production in this country.”
According to Habeck, domestic electrolysis capacities for green hydrogen are to be expanded to at least ten gigawatts by 2030. Tenders for additional electrolyzers to produce green hydrogen are scheduled to begin in Germany this year. In addition, a strategy for the import of hydrogen is also to be published this year.
Thanks to this strategy, Germany sees Habeck as a pioneer in hydrogen within Europe. But there is also a great need for cooperation within the EU. “Europe benefits from the pioneering role that Germany has taken on and Germany benefits from the market becoming larger.”
CDU: “Too much opposition”
This isn’t happening fast enough for opposition politician Andreas Jung from the CDU. “We expect the federal government to drive forward this national strategy, but above all we also expect European initiative.” Above all, cooperation with France and Poland is needed, says the Bundestag member.
The aim is to join forces on the import strategy in order to jointly use the potential from Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal. That has to get better. “There is too much opposition and not enough togetherness. Things have to get better and faster.”