The solution could come from Australia. “We will start exporting green hydrogen in 2023 or 2024 at the latest,” said Australian multibillionaire and mining entrepreneur Andrew Forrest to Handelsblatt following a meeting with representatives of leading German industrial groups on Monday evening in the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi).
There were BASF, Covestro, Linde, RWE, Thyssen-Krupp, Uniper and Deutsche Bank as well as a number of other companies. “The appetite of companies for green hydrogen is enormous, especially in Germany,” said Forrest.
The industry rates Forrest’s commitment positively. The Australian is one of the few players who can offer reliable concepts for the production of green hydrogen, said an industry representative. Many other projects are at a much earlier stage. Forrest has had ambitious plans to build a complete value chain for green hydrogen for years.
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Its goal is to be able to deliver at least 15 million tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030. Production should start in 2023 if possible and be continuously expanded in the following years. The green hydrogen could then be delivered by ship to Europe, for example to Rotterdam.
Interest in “H2 Global”
With his project, Forrest would exceed the goals of the “National Hydrogen Strategy” for 2030 by a factor of 30. In the hydrogen strategy, which the federal government decided in June 2020, the goal is set of producing 0.5 million tons of green hydrogen annually in Germany by 2030.
“Green hydrogen will be competitive very quickly,” Forrest promised. “I cannot predict the price of green hydrogen. But it is certain that there will be enormous economies of scale. ”He was in talks with“ well-known German companies ”.
In some industries, carbon neutral hydrogen is the only way to become carbon neutral. In steel production, for example, it can replace the coal that is used in the blast furnace. Companies such as Thyssen-Krupp Steel, Salzgitter and Arcelor Mittal are working on the corresponding processes. Your problem: There is a lack of climate-neutral hydrogen.
With his project, Forrest wants to help change that. “There will be a market for green hydrogen, green hydrogen will develop into a standard commodity with exchange prices just like other raw materials,” he said. He predicts that Japan and South Korea will have the first developed hydrogen markets, followed by Europe. Currently, the cost of green hydrogen is significantly higher than the cost of fossil fuels or conventionally produced hydrogen.
Green hydrogen is produced using electricity from renewable sources through electrolysis. It is climate neutral. Conventional hydrogen is produced through steam reforming on the basis of natural gas, which releases CO2.
State support is required for green hydrogen to be used in industry. The BMWi has therefore launched the “H2 Global” project and has made 900 million euros available for it. Forrest is convinced that “H2 Global” can provide a decisive impetus: With this, Germany is giving the hydrogen industry a “real kick start,” he said.
Fortune with the mining of iron ore
The project aims to help establish long-term supply relationships between producers of green hydrogen abroad and customers from industry. Behind this is the realization that Germany will only be able to meet a small part of its green hydrogen needs from its own production.
At the center of the “H2 Global” concept is a foundation that supports consortia in starting the production of green hydrogen. The founders include some of the companies that took part in the meeting with Forrest in the Federal Ministry of Economics. According to Markus Exenberger, Managing Director of H2 Global Advisory GmbH, there is currently intensive discussion with Forrest about joining the foundation. Forrest’s plans are impressive, said Exenberger.
Green hydrogen is considered to be the energy of the future. But the material is still extremely expensive and difficult to obtain.
(Photo: dpa)
The consortia supported by the foundation must prevail in a tendering process for the long-term supply of green hydrogen to Germany. On the customer side, the companies that are willing to pay the highest price for the hydrogen receive an annual surcharge.
Contracts for difference serve as an instrument to bring producers and buyers together. These contracts close the gap between the expected production costs of green hydrogen and the willingness to pay of the customers from the industry. “If Mr. Forrest wins the competition as a producer, H2 Global is open to him,” said Exenberger.
Forrest, who made his fortune mining iron ore and has consistently ranks one of the top five in various rankings of the richest Australians, had only announced in October that he wanted to enter the production of electrolysers on a large scale. The offers from European and American manufacturers are too expensive for him, he said. “I see a lot of scope for economies of scale in the manufacture of electrolysers,” said Forrest.
Forrest can contribute the most important production factor for hydrogen electrolysis at low cost: electricity from renewable sources. His company, Fortescue, owns tens of thousands of square kilometers of land in Australia that is suitable for the installation of photovoltaic systems and wind turbines.
More: Hydrogen demand could increase sevenfold by 2070.