Biofore Magazine 2022

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Green hydrogen should be produced when energy is very cheap – such as when wind turbines are generating more than can be used immediately.

that capacity by 2030 in line with projected demand for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen.” The Commission has also published two draft Delegated Acts on the definition and production of renewable hydro gen and is working on a range of initiatives to implement its hydrogen ambitions with industry and other stakeholders. What's more, it has put an extra EUR 200 million of funding into research and recently approved up to EUR 5.4 billion in support from 15 mem ber states through the Hy2Tech Important Project of Common European Interest project, which is expected to unlock some EUR 8.8 billion in extra in vestments. In addition, significant amounts of money are being poured into green hydrogen developments in EUmember states. However, Tapio Korpeinen , Exec utive Vice President at UPM Energy, is among those questioning whether it will be enough to scale up to the required capacity. Instead of being a one stop solution, he says green hydrogen – or low-emission or zero-emission hydrogen, as he prefers to call it – should be seen as a piece in a puzzle. “Hydrogen has many benefits and good features, but there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome, which is why it usually only starts to make economic sense when hydrogen is a piece of a puzzle that is The puzzle analogy is one echoed by Stephen Jackson , Chief Technology and Market Officer at Hydrogen Europe, a trade body that represents more than 350 companies, 20 EU regions and 30 national associations working in the sector. “A complementary set of solutions is necessary to achieve impactful emissions reductions. Hydrogen is a central piece of this puzzle and is needed across many sectors of the EU’s economy thanks to its long-term storage capacity and baseload capabilities.” One of Korpeinen’s key concerns is the efficiency of green hydrogen. “If you take electricity and you produce hydrogen on an electrolyser – just straightforward, nothing else – you lose about 30% of the energy content of the electricity that was used to produce that hydrogen,” he says. “If you take that hydrogen and put it in a fuel cell that is driving a car engine, then there are further energy losses in that process.” Green hydrogen should be produced when energy is very cheap – such as when wind turbines are generating more than can be used immediately. “Unless you can use it on the spot, it makes sense to use the hydrogen to produce something that is easier to transport – like a synthetic fuel,” he adds. Hydro gen is also valuable as an input in industrial products and economic,” he explains. Benefits and challenges

processes where reducing emissions is otherwise costly or diffi cult – such as the replacement of coking coal in the steel industry. UPM’s competitive edge Prepped for the future, UPM Energy has a lot of emission-free power generation – hydro and nuclear – itself and the company already uses hydrogen in its industrial processes, particularly for renewable fuels. UPM is also currently constructing a biochem icals refinery in Leuna, Germany to produce chemicals that can replace fossil-based petrochemicals with wood-based chemicals. In addition, UPM has significant amounts of biogenic CO₂ produced from biomass at UPM pulp mills. Biogenic CO₂ will be one key resource for a fully sustainable hydrogen economy in the future. With such assets at hand, UPM is actively investigating opportunities in the hydrogen economy. Definition concerns What unites the industry currently is the lack of regulatory certainty of definitions and certain proposed restrictions that may hinder hydrogen’s full potential. It has been proposed that only the use of electricity fromnewwind and solar plants shall be accepted for green hydrogen production, but many are questioning that limited approach.