Is EU’s hydrogen revolution achievable in time to meet climate goals?

Hydrogen has lengthy been mooted as a gas of the longer term, an elixir to decarbonising the EU in an economical means.

But, regardless of expectations that the fuel will play an necessary function in serving to the bloc obtain its objectives of being local weather impartial by 2050 and slicing carbon emissions by 55% by 2030, it’s nonetheless a extensively unknown supply of vitality with little or no infrastructure arrange throughout the continent.

At the moment, there are 175 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) all through Europe, nearly all of that are positioned in Germany.

Final yr although, lawmakers within the European Parliament voted to construct HRS each 100km alongside important EU roads – a formidable problem given the infrastructure and demand for hydrogen-powered gas cell electrical autos (FCEVs) remains to be not there.

The vary of FCEVs can range between 400km and 700km, so the goal of MEPs would fulfill the wants of drivers.

However there are doubts it is a viable resolution in the direction of assembly emission discount targets in time.

A chunk of the puzzle

For Roy Campe, Chief Know-how Officer at CMB.TECH – an organization that runs one of many few HRS in Belgium – hydrogen isn’t a panacea to Europe’s local weather points, it is only one piece of the puzzle.

“It is a part of the answer. Primarily, we have to make investments massively into renewables like photo voltaic and wind,” Campe informed Euronews. “However the issue is that when you’ve gotten photo voltaic vitality, when you’ve gotten wind vitality, usually you do not have the patron of that vitality. Hydrogen is an ideal technique to retailer that vitality. When you find yourself not utilizing it, retailer it and you’ll reuse it on the time while you want it.”

“Hydrogen will certainly be a part of the way forward for fuels,” he added. “We do not say it would do all the pieces, however we consider that almost all of professional quality [transport] tools will likely be powered by hydrogen sooner or later.”

CMB.TECH is concerned in becoming heavy-duty autos, like lorries, with hydrogen functionality. On this case, dual-fuel know-how is used, which means the lorry can use each diesel or petrol and hydrogen gas.

Campe says, for now, that is the way in which ahead for these kinds of autos.

“We consider it has to begin from a dual-fuel strategy,” he stated. “With dual-fuel, you possibly can, to illustrate, match the infrastructure additionally with the demand. At present there’s much less refuelling infrastructure as a result of there may be much less demand and there may be much less demand as a result of there may be much less infrastructure.”

Hydrogen can also be utilized in different sectors past transport, together with within the manufacturing of chemical merchandise, like fertilizers and plastics.

In response to the European Fee, hydrogen accounts for two% of Europe’s present vitality consumption.

Nevertheless, 96% of this hydrogen is produced via soiled means, utilizing pure fuel or fossil fuels, producing a big quantities of CO2 emissions. It is why the EU needs to transition in the direction of hydrogen produced utilizing renewable vitality.

Inexperienced hydrogen, as it’s recognized, is made utilizing renewable sources – like wind and photo voltaic – through electrolysis, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. It is then saved till it is wanted.

Brussels needs to make use of inexperienced hydrogen to cut back emissions throughout all sectors, aiming to provide 10 million tonnes of it and import one other 10 million tonnes by 2030.

Unrealistic expectations

However in response to Professor Samuel Furfari, a chemical engineer at Free College of Brussels and European Fee official for over 36 years, producing hydrogen utilizing renewable vitality is solely not possible on such a big scale.

“The European Fee and, certainly, the European Union Financial institution, wish to produce 10 million tonnes per yr of hydrogen, however not [just] hydrogen – hydrogen produced from wind and photo voltaic vitality primarily, different renewables, however primarily wind and photo voltaic vitality,” Furfari informed Euronews.

“[But] they’ve an issue with wind vitality. It’s intermittent and typically individuals don’t want electrical energy when wind is blowing an excessive amount of and due to this fact there’s a big downside in Europe. The extra we set up wind machines, the extra now we have an issue. It is why certainly the electrical energy value is growing since 2008, years earlier than the struggle in Ukraine.”

“Making electrolysis of water is straightforward. All college students have seen their chemistry professor doing that. However this isn’t an industrial technique to produce hydrogen,” he added.

“To supply hydrogen with electrolysis could be very difficult and really vitality consuming. And that is the massive distinction,” he stated. “It is why it has not existed. No person is doing that.”

In response to Furfari the very best and most cost-effective technique to produce hydrogen is thru nuclear vitality, which he stated isn’t “politically right right this moment” and one thing the EU is unlikely to pursue in its hydrogen technique anytime quickly.