Biofore Magazine 2022

By Natalie Marchant Photography UPM, Getty Images

FEATURE

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The quicker we switch to renewables and hydrogen, combined with more energy efficiency, the quicker we will be truly independent and master our energy sys tem,” said European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen in May.

Her comments came as the EC released its REPowerEU plans in response to the global energy disruption caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and as part of wider goals for the EU to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The plan includes setting a target of 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable – or ‘green’ – hydrogen production and 10 million tonnes of imports by 2030 to replace natural gas, coal and oil in hard-to-decarbonise industries and transport sectors. Green hydrogen is made by using electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Its benefits include being 100% sustainable, easily storable and extremely versatile, as it can be transformed into electricity or synthetic gas and used for commercial, industrial and mobility purposes. But it has yet to be produced anywhere at a large scale due to the cost of production and its volatility, leading to storage and transportation issues, and meaning that many in the indus try are concerned about the EU’s ability to rise to fulfil these targets. Working to achieve ambitions To address such concerns, the plans propose that EU electro lyser manufacturing capacity is scaled up significantly tomeet the expected demand for renewable hydrogen production. Tim McPhie , EC Spokesperson for Climate Action and En ergy, says: “The European hydrogen industry estimates a need of around 120 GW of electrolyser capacity in the EU by 2030, whichwould suffice tomeet the objective of producing 10million tonnes of renewable hydrogen.” He notes that European electrolyser manufacturers have an objective in place to have a combined annual electrolyser manufacturing capacity of 17.5 GW by 2025 in Europe, which is ten times the current figure. “They aim to further increase

“The European hydrogen industry estimates a need of around 120 GW of electrolyser capacity in the EU by 2030, which would suffice to meet the objective of producing 10

million tonnes of renewable hydrogen.”