According to the national hydrogen strategy of the Federal Government, as part of the market ramp-up of hydrogen technologies, a strong and sustainable domestic hydrogen production and hydrogen use – a “home market” – is to be established in the first step by 2030. The need to build up such a market, as described in the national hydrogen strategy, is commendable. Against the background of current events, however, the implementation reads more like a necessary evil from a time when issues such as the energy supply crisis or dependence on gas supplies from abroad played hardly any role.
There is no question that local production of green hydrogen cannot meet future demand. However, the constant reference to this is like a spanner in the works for the planned national market ramp-up and sometimes reduces the prospect of establishing a strong and sustainable home market in the near future ad absurdum.
In view of the growing doubts about the reliability of conventional energy sources, the incentives for the construction and operation of electrolysers for the production of green hydrogen should now be given particular priority. As a result, the “home market” could be transformed into a nationwide and independent hydrogen supply network before 2030, in which industry and the mobility landscape benefit from the locally generated, green hydrogen at every application level and pressure level.
Suddenly, most gas network operators can imagine having hydrogen instead of natural gas flowing through their pipelines in the near future. And when looking at the next diesel bill for their own commercial vehicle fleet, most logistics companies will probably not be able to come up with the opportunity to test alternatively powered trucks quickly enough. In both cases, the conversion to hydrogen technology would already be possible.
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But where exactly is this hydrogen supposed to come from? The quicker and easier it is for medium-sized companies in particular to get approval for hydrogen generation plants in the range of two to five megawatts (MW), the greater the chance of becoming not only more sustainable but also more independent along the entire value chain of energy supply.
Comparable with wind power expansion
The federal government sees a hydrogen requirement of around 100 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030. In order to cover part of this demand, generating plants with a total capacity of up to five GW including the required offshore and onshore energy generation are to be built in Germany by 2030. This corresponds to a green hydrogen production of up to 14 TWh per year.
If one were to assume that this production takes place exclusively through smaller, decentralized generation plants of between two and five MW, between 80 and 150 new electrolysers would have to go into operation every year. Today’s investment costs in such a project can be compared with the investment in a new wind turbine on land.
The expected economies of scale associated with further technological development and the economies of scale in production associated with the market ramp-up are also comparable with the historical development of wind energy.
The planned hydrogen project “Wind2Move” by the Davids company shows what this implementation could look like in practice. The goal of “Wind2Move” is locally produced, green hydrogen, which is made available to local logistics companies and brought directly onto the road by refueling commercial vehicles.
> >Read here: Gas network operators want to accelerate the switch to hydrogen
At the planned location, two directly connected post-EEG wind turbines with 3 MW and a PV ground-mounted system with 6 MW will then supply a 2 MW PEM electrolyser with green electricity, which in the first step will produce around 200 tons of green hydrogen per year. A public H2 filling station for the flexible refueling of commercial vehicles in the Rhenish mining area will be set up right next to the generation plant.
The chosen location in the Aldenhoven industrial area is ideally suited for this: Two directly connected post-EEG wind turbines and a PV ground-mounted system supply the 2MW PEM electrolyser with green electricity, which initially produces 200 tons of green hydrogen per year. The hydrogen will be compressed and stored right next to the production plant and a public H2 filling station for commercial vehicles will be built with a direct connection to the motorway.
Incentives for green hydrogen production needed
For a future market benefit from hydrogen generation plants, it is essential that the aforementioned cost degression is promoted using integrated H2 systems and their specific applications through projects such as “Wind2Move”. Just as the EEG has promoted the market ramp-up of wind energy since 2000, incentives for green hydrogen production must also be created at the regulatory level.
The adjustment of the hydrogen production costs on the expenditure side or the increase in CO2 certificates or the establishment of “Carbon Contracts for Difference” to improve the income side are significantly affected by external decisions, especially at EU and federal level. A uniform, digitally certified exchange of green gases and CO2 certificates with clear regulations could be the way to the economical production of green hydrogen.
>> Read here: Development of the infrastructure is faltering: dispute over the German hydrogen network
This is the only way that medium-sized companies like Davids can continue to help shape the energy transition where it originated: with the sustainable use of green primary energy, with the focus on being able to operate locally, circularly and climate-neutrally. After all, supposedly small projects in the jungle of the future hydrogen landscape also have great potential to contribute to a sustainable and independent energy market.
It is to be hoped that the implementation will not end in the illusion, as was the case at the beginning of the expansion of wind power, that as a technology pioneer, we are already well on the way to security of supply through renewable energy sources. The recent events should be used as a catalyst for hydrogen and not as a brake by sticking to conventional energy carriers.
Robyn Solty heads the Renewable Energy division within the family-run Davids group of companies.
More: Hydrogen value chains are growing on a regional scale