Green hydrogen, the energy of the future key in decarbonisation

Temperatures are already 1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), just raising another 0.5 ° C could have devastating effects. Faced with this scenario, many countries are urgently looking for ways to solve their energy needs without harming the environment.

One of the elements that seems to make its way into the new paradigm is green hydrogen, also known as renewable hydrogen or e-Hydrogen, due to its multifaceted and versatile nature: it is produced by electrolysis, using an electric current to separate hydrogen from oxygen. of water, so it is of renewable origin, does not pollute and it is a perfect alternative for all energy uses that cannot be electrified: industry, power plants, cars, heavy transport, ships and even airplanes.

But it is also a powerful business niche: electricity demand will multiply between now and 2040. Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe, but until recently it had not emerged as a 100% sustainable alternative to generate large amounts of Energy. Today, this incipient energy mainly supplies large industry, a sector forced to change its carbon footprint if it wants to avoid heavy penalties.. These companies are huge consumers of green hydrogen, which they use to power their factories and provide clean fuel to their heavy transport fleets. Its introduction and development could help bridge the gap in more complicated industries, such as heavy transportation, steelmaking, and the production of fertilizers and methanol.

Leaders

The UN established 2030 as the date to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 7 specifically aims to ensure access to affordable, safe, sustainable and modern energy for all. For it It is necessary to double the world rate of improvement in energy efficiency and to substantially increase the percentage of renewables in the energy mix.

Australia is leading the production plans for this new clean fuel with proposals to build 5 megaprojects in its territory, thanks to its enormous renewable energy resources, particularly wind and solar. The largest project in the country and probably in the world is the Asian Renewable Energy Hub, located in Pilbara, Western Australia, where It is planned to build a series of plants with electrolyzers with a total capacity of 14 GW. The $ 36 million (€ 31 million) project is expected to be ready by 2027-28. The other four projects, two in Western Australia and two in Queensland in the east, are still in the initial planning phase but, if approved, would add another 13.1 GW.

On the other hand, the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, together with other developers, is leading the NortH2 project in the Port of Ems, in the north of the Netherlands, which foresees the construction of at least 10 GW of electrolyzers. The goal is to have 1 GW by 2027 and 4 GW by 2030, using offshore wind energy. In the middle of this year the feasibility study of the project will be completed, the cost of which is unknown. The hydrogen generated plans to be used to power heavy industry in both the Netherlands and Germany.

The Germans plan their own green hydrogen projects on national territory. The largest is AquaVentus, on the small island of Heligoland in the North Sea. His idea is to build 10 GW of capacity there by 2035. A consortium of 27 companies, research institutions and organizations are promoting the project, which will use the powerful winds of the region as an energy source. A second, smaller project is planned in Rostock, on Germany’s north coast, where a consortium led by local energy company RWE plans to build another 1 GW of green energy.

For its part, China, also known as the Asian giant, is the world’s leading producer of hydrogen, although until now it has used hydrocarbons to generate almost all that energy. Nevertheless, the country is taking its first steps in the green hydrogen market with the construction of a megaproject in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, in the north of the country. The project is led by the Beijing Jingneng state utility company, which It will invest about 3 billion dollars (2,626 million euros) to generate 5GW from wind and solar energy. The project is expected to be ready this year.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab country with the largest oil reserves, also plans to enter the green hydrogen market with the so-called Helios Green Fuels Project. This will be located in the futuristic “smart city” of NEOM, located on the shores of the Red Sea, in the province of Tabuk, in the northwest of the country. The $ 5 billion (€ 4,377 million) project is expected to install 4 GW of electrolyzers by 2025.

Latin America is not far behind either, since Chile, a country considered one of the meccas of solar energy, was the first in the region to present a “National Green Hydrogen Strategy” in November 2020. This is also the only one Latin American country with two projects under development: HyEx, by French energy company Engie and Chilean mining services company Enaex, and Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF), by AME, Enap, Enel Green Power, Porsche and Siemens Energy. The first, based in Antofagasta, in northern Chile, It will use solar energy to power 1.6 GW electrolyzers. The green hydrogen will be used in mining. An initial pilot test plans to install 16 MW by 2024.

The HIF project, at the opposite end of Chile, in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, will use wind energy to generate “e-fuels” based on green hydrogen. According to information from the AME company, “the pilot will use a 1.25 MW electrolyzer and in the commercial phases it will be higher than 1 GW”. Chilean Energy Minister Juan Carlos Jobet pointed out that the country not only seeks to generate green hydrogen to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, but also aspires to be able to export this clean fuel in the future.

Spain, for example, is going to go from 120 GW to more than 250 GW. The Climate Change and Energy Transition Law includes a strong commitment to this energy and a green hydrogen transport macro network project from Spain to northern Europe (Green Spider Project). In this regard, Enagás has promoted an investment plan of 2,250 million euros to turn Spain into a hydrogen exporting country to Europe. This large investment will be used in commissioning 1,000 MW renewable energy facilities and various electrolysis plants with capacities of 500 MW in 5 strategic Spanish regions: Asturias, the Basque Country, Castilla y León, Aragon and the Balearic Islands. In addition, it will seek to establish a shipment of renewable hydrogen by sea with a frequency of two to three weekly shipments from the port of Gijón to European destinations such as the Netherlands or France.

Rolwind has also decided to invest in green hydrogen projects in the Chemical Pole of Huelva and Campo de Gibraltar, in Cádiz (one of the largest H2V projects in Spain with 100% renewable PPA). These projects are focused on the industry since, due to the difficulty of transporting and storing hydrogen, it is more efficient to implement it as close as possible to the large consumption centers. Thus, the great challenge of this revolutionary fuel, and the big business, is to associate it with mobility. To the entire range of transport: cars, trucks (from the smallest to the largest tonnage), maritime transport (fishing fleets, cruise ships, freighters) and the aeronautical industry. It is there, in mobility, where H2V is truly profitable and where Rolwind has focused its commitment to the future. Last year they closed a business agreement with ALSET Global, an Austrian technology and engineering company specialized for 18 years in hydrogen-based clean mobility solutions (it is the company that is currently developing the hydrogen engine of the new Aston Martin Hybrid Hydrogen Rapid S).

Rolwind’s pilot project with ALSET consists of replicating in Córdoba what the Austrian company is doing in Chile: circular mobility. For example, a fleet of garbage trucks that move around the city and recharge their tanks at an H2V generating station located in the city itself. A cheaper and greener energy, without the need for a hydrogen transport network, between cities or countries, which is not yet a reality (the formula is being studied to use the current gas infrastructures in the near future or to create a parallel network of hydroducts, taking advantage of the easements already established, which is actually the most valuable thing).

This use of green hydrogen for mobility requires a paradigm shift, not only from infrastructures or industry, but also from the mentality of governments and society. Because to implement this energy, which also has a renewable origin (green), energy production in Spain is going to have to grow exponentially.

In short, green hydrogen is here to stay. And although there is still regulatory uncertainty and ignorance on the part of the general public, the governments of Spain and the European Union (other countries such as Japan have been years ahead) are clearly betting on this energy. Its drive is vital to achieving, among other things, the climate commitments of the Paris Agreement and the zero-emission targets required by the climate emergency.