BERLIN, July 4 (Reuters) - Germany could cover up to 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of its annual energy needs with imports of green hydrogen via pipelines from neighbouring countries by the mid-2030s, covering a significant share of its projected demand, a study showed on Thursday.
>> In Other News: MAX Power Launches USA Natural Hydrogen Strategic Alliance With Leading European Engineering Firm
Berlin is seeking to expand the use of hydrogen as an energy source to cut greenhouse emissions for highly polluting industrial sectors that cannot be electrified, such as steel and chemicals, and cut dependency on imported fossil fuel.
Produced using solar and wind power, green hydrogen is a pillar of Germany's planned energy transition. The study by Berlin-based Agora Energiewende and Agora Industry think tanks said that by 2035 hydrogen could cover 11.2% of the country's projected 894 TWh total energy demand. But Germany will need to import around 50% to 70% of its hydrogen due to its limited renewable energy resources.
Currently, Germany uses around 55-60 TWh of hydrogen per year but it is produced almost exclusively from fossil fuels, data by the economy ministry showed.
The study said that by 2030 Germany could produce 11 TWh of hydrogen and import about 17 TWh of green and some 15 TWh of blue hydrogen, produced from natural gas, via pipelines. That would cover less than half of Germany's total hydrogen demand projected to reach 95 TWh to 130 TWh by the end of the decade.
However, by leveraging existing natural gas infrastructure in Europe, Germany could boost pipeline imports to between 60 TWh and 100 TWh by 2035, the study said.
"To achieve climate neutrality, Germany needs a secure and cost-effective supply of renewable hydrogen. Pipeline imports from Europe play a crucial role in this," Simon Mueller, Agora Energiewende director, said in a statement.
To reach this imports potential, Germany will need a financing model and will have to move quickly with agreements on cost-sharing among involved countries, Mueller said."This is the only way the required quantities of green hydrogen can be delivered in the first half of the next decade," he said.
Hydrogen producers and pipeline operators will also need assurances about future hydrogen demand from Germany, Mueller added.
The study examined five potential hydrogen pipeline corridors to Germany, considering factors such as production potential, political support, and technical complexity. Promising corridors include imports from Denmark and Norway via the North Sea, and potentially from Sweden and Finland via the Baltic Sea in a later stage due to the distance and technical complexity, it added.
In the long term, pipelines from Southern Europe and North Africa, especially Spain and Tunisia, can play a significant role, in addition to possible imports from the United Kingdom, Portugal, Algeria, Greece, and Ukraine.
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.
Inside this Issue đź’° Mantel Secures $30 Million to Bring Low Cost, Energy Efficient Carbon Capture to the Heavy Industrial Sector đź”— Ontras and H2 Energy Europe Sign MOU to Advance Hydrogen Infrastr...
Inside this Issue 🤝 Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Witnesses Signing Ceremony for ADNOC and ExxonMobil Partnering in World’s Largest Low-Carbon Hydrogen Facility 💡 Oxylus Energy Raises $4.5 Millio...
Inside this Issue 🛢️ Oil and Gas Giant Bp to Partner Aberdeen's Hydrogen Plans 💰 DOE Awarding $62M to 20 Projects to Improve Performance of Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure 🌍 DP World’s Bold Steps To...
With backing from leaders in the energy industry, the company is scaling its molten borate carbon capture technology, which could cut costs by more than half. BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mantel Captu...
Ontras and H2 Energy Europe Sign MOU to Advance Hydrogen Infrastructure for Industrial Customers
Zurich, 5 September 2024Â - H2 Energy Europe AG, a developer of large-scale green hydrogen ecosystems, and ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH (ONTRAS), a German transmission system operator (TSO), have signed...
New Underground Wells Could Store Carbon Dioxide Pollution for Microsoft and Amazon
A major project to capture and store carbon dioxide pollution for companies including Microsoft and Amazon just took a significant step forward — the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued dr...
Hycamite Opens Europe’s Largest Methane-splitting Plant for Low-carbon Hydrogen Production
Today, Hycamite TCD Technologies, a leader in emissions-free methane-splitting technology, opens Europe’s largest methane-splitting plant in Kokkola, Finland. Once fully operational, the nominal ca...
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.