Green hydrogen: 6 energy of the future leading countries
Consensus view is that if we want to prevent the worst consequences of climate change, we must find a means to keep global temperatures from rising even further in the near future.
The task at hand is enormous. Temperatures have already risen by one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that even a small increase of 0.5 degree Celsius might have catastrophic consequences.
Because of this situation, many countries are scrambling to find solutions that will meet their energy needs while also minimizing their negative impact on the environment.
Green hydrogen, also known as renewable hydrogen or e-Hydrogen, is one of the alternatives that certain countries are working on bringing to market.
In his latest book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster (“How to Avoid a Climate Disaster”), Bill Gates cites this fuel as the best breakthrough in recent years for combating the greenhouse effect.
“I don’t know if we will succeed (to produce green hydrogen at an affordable price), but if we succeeded it would solve many problems,” he said on the Armchair Expert podcast.
“I’m excited that there’s a lot of talk about getting this done. That didn’t happen 3-4 years ago,” he said.
What exactly is hydrogen?
The most abundant chemical element in the universe is hydrogen. This gas, which may also take on a liquid condition, makes up the majority of stars, including our Sun.
Hydrogen is extremely powerful, with three times the energy of gasoline.
It is, however, a clean energy source because it only emits water (H2O) in the form of steam and does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2).
Despite the fact that technology have existed for many years that allow hydrogen to be utilized as a fuel, there are various reasons why it has only been employed on rare occasions until now (such as to power NASA spacecraft).
What is green hydrogen, and how might it help us reduce CO2 emissions on our roadways and cook with less smoke?
One is that it is deemed hazardous because it is very combustible, making transportation and storage difficult.
But the problems in manufacturing it are an even bigger stumbling obstacle.
Because it turns out that hydrogen only exists in the presence of other elements on Earth. It is found in water together with oxygen, and it reacts with carbon to generate hydrocarbons like gas, coal, and oil. To be utilized as a fuel, hydrogen must be separated from other molecules.
And attaining this necessitates a lot of energy as well as a lot of money.
Hydrocarbons were previously utilized to generate that energy, hence hydrogen production continues to harm the environment with CO2.
However, a few years ago, a method called electrolysis allowed hydrogen to be created from renewable energy such as the sun and wind.
In a device known as an electrolyzer, an electrical current is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Green hydrogen, which is 100 percent sustainable but significantly more expensive to manufacture than standard hydrogen, is the consequence.
Many people feel it has the potential to provide a green solution for some of the most polluting industries, such as transportation, chemical and steel manufacturing, and power generation.
It’s a wager on the future.
Currently, non-renewable sources provide 99 percent of the hydrogen utilized as a fuel.
According to the International Energy Agency, water electrolysis produces less than 0.1 percent of total energy.
Many energy experts, however, believe that this will soon change.
Pressures to reduce pollution have prompted a slew of countries and businesses to invest in this new form of clean energy, which many feel will be critical to “decarbonizing” the planet.
Repsol, BP, and Shell are among the oil majors that have started green hydrogen projects.
Several countries have also released national production plans for this renewable energy source.
This includes the European Union (EU), which vowed to invest US $ 430 billion in green hydrogen between now and 2030 in its “Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate Neutral Europe,” issued in mid-2020.
In order to meet its objective of becoming climate neutral by 2050, the EU plans to deploy 40 gigawatts (GW) of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers during the next decade.
In his energy plan, Joe Biden, the new US president, claimed that “in a decade, the market will be able to acquire green hydrogen at the same cost as conventional hydrogen, offering a new source of clean fuel for some existing power plants.”
Prices dropped for Hydrogen.
As part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Race to Zero campaign, seven worldwide firms creating green hydrogen technologies launched the Green Hydrogen Catapult initiative at the end of 2020. Climate.
ACWA Power, a Saudi clean energy company, CWP Renewables, Envision, a Chinese wind turbine manufacturer, Iberdrola and rsted, Snam, an Italian gas company, and Yara, a Norwegian fertilizer company, make up this worldwide coalition. In the next six years, he wants the industry to grow by 50 times.
It also seeks to reduce the present cost of renewable hydrogen to less than $2 per kilogram.
According to a report published by energy firm Wood Mackenzie in August 2020, they are on the right track: costs are expected to reduce by as much as 64% over the next decade.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs predicted in September that the green hydrogen industry will be worth more than $ 11 trillion by 2050.
The World makers
All of this enthusiasm for “future energy,” as Forbes magazine has dubbed it, stems from a slew of mega-projects being planned around the world.
These projects – which have been disclosed but are still in the planning stages in most cases – would represent a massive expansion of the green hydrogen market, increasing capacity from around 80GW to more than 140GW.
The six countries with the largest green hydrogen production programs are listed below.
- Australia
- Netherland
- Germany
- China
- Saudi Arabia
- Chile
1. Australia
Because of its vast renewable energy resources, mainly wind and solar, Oceania’s largest country is leading the production plans for this new clean fuel, with plans to develop five mega-projects on its soil.
The Asian Renewable Energy Hub, in Pilbara, Western Australia, is the country’s and world’s largest project, with plans to develop a chain of facilities with electrolyzers with a total capacity of 14GW.
By 2027-28, the $ 36 billion project should be completed.
The other four projects, two in Western Australia and two in eastern Queensland, are still in the planning stages, but if approved, they would add another 13.1GW to the system.
Some have dubbed Australia “the Saudi Arabia of green hydrogen” as a result of all of this.
2. Netherlands.
The NortH2 project near the Port of Ems, in the north of the Netherlands, is being led by the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, together with other developers. It calls for the building of at least 10GW of electrolyzers.
The goal is to have 1 GW of offshore wind power by 2027 and 4 GW by 2030.
The project’s feasibility study, the cost of which has not been disclosed, will be finished in the middle of this year.
In both the Netherlands and Germany, the hydrogen created will be used for prospective heavy industries.
3. Germany.
The Germans are likewise planning their own green hydrogen projects. The largest is AquaVentus, which is located on the small North Sea island of Heligoland.
By 2035, the goal is to install 10GW of capacity there.
The initiative, which will harness the region’s high winds as an energy source, is being promoted by a collaboration of 27 corporations, research institutions, and organizations, including Shell.
In Rostock, on Germany’s north shore, a consortium led by local power firm RWE aims to build another 1GW of green power.
4. China.
Although the Asian giant may be the world’s biggest generator of hydrogen, it has relied on hydrocarbons to generate practically all of the energy it has produced thus far.
However, the country is making its first forays into the green hydrogen market with the construction of a massive plant in the autonomous province of Inner Mongolia, located in the country’s northernmost territory.
Beijing Jingneng, a state-owned utility business, is leading the project, which will invest US$ 3 billion to create 5GW of electricity from wind and solar energy sources.
The project is planned to be completed by the end of the year.
5. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia which is a country in the Middle East is an Arab country with the highest oil reserves also aims to enter the green hydrogen market with the Helios Green Fuels Project, which is a green hydrogen production facility.
It will be housed in NEOM’s future “smart city,” which will be built on the banks of the Red Sea in Tabuk province, in the country’s northwest region.
By 2025, it is estimated that the $ 5 billion project will have installed 4GW of electrolyzers.
6. Chile.
The South American country, which is considered to be one of the solar energy meccas, was the first in the region to propose a “National Green Hydrogen Strategy” in November 2020, making it the first in the region to do so.
The country has two projects in development: HyEx, which is being developed by the French energy company Engie and the Chilean mining services company Enaex, as well as Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF), which is being developed jointly by AME, Enel Green Power and Porsche, as well as Siemens Energy.
The first, located in Antofagasta, in northern Chile, will use solar energy to power electrolyzers with a combined capacity of 1.6 gigatonnes. The mining industry will benefit from the usage of green hydrogen.
By 2024, a pilot test will be conducted with the goal of installing 16MW.
It is planned to harness wind energy to manufacture green hydrogen-based e-fuels in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Regions, which are on the other side of Chile from the country’s southern tip.
According to information from the AME firm, “the pilot will employ a 1.25 MW electrolyzer, and the commercial phases will use an electrolyzer with a capacity greater than 1GW.”
Chilean Energy Minister Juan Carlos Jobet stated that the government not only intends to develop green hydrogen in order to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, but that the country also hopes to be able to export this clean fuel in the future, if all goes according to plan.
“If we do things well, the green hydrogen industry in Chile has the potential to be as important as mining, forestry, and salmon were in the past,” he told the journal Electricidad.
