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Imagine one day driving a ‘hydrogen car which takes you to a train station where the vehicle to be taken can be fueled with the same fuel. Imagine that the heating of home – or better still the material heavy with which the object that releases heat is built – is originated with zero impact, thanks to’green hydrogen. And imagine that these are not fantasies for your children, but a revolution that you can experience in the coming years: Also here, in Italy. It is the final goal of the von der Leyen Commission’s challenge, the center of the strategy to make Europe the first zero-impact continent in human history by 2050: green hydrogen promises to replace the gas and to start doing it substantially by 2030. A beautiful dream. Surely too good to materialize without overcoming some obstacles. And that in the present has a overpriced price to become reality.
What it is and what are its advantages
Basically, green is that type of hydrogen made from renewable energy sources. Because today hydrogen is already produced and used, but it is the gray. “The coloring of hydrogen defines the mode of production- explains to Wired Giorgio GraditiDirector of the Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department of theAeneas-. The grey derives from reforming processes and therefore releases Co2 into the atmosphere: at the moment it costs 6 or 7 times less than the green one, which instead comes from renewable sources, therefore in the Italian solar photovoltaic and wind energy context. Unlike gray, the production of green hydrogen occurs through the electrolysis processor the splitting of the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen.
Cars, heavy vehicles, trains and one day even airplanes. Heating and energizing homes. Satisfy the energy demand of all industries, even the heavy and most energy-intensive ones. All this could be used for green hydrogen, which once fully operational represents the first real goal of the long-awaited energy transition. “Hydrogen is a carrier that can be used for different needs – continues Welcome – and has an important impact in hard to abate industries such as paper mills, glass factories, refineries, ceramic or chemical companies. Anything that can now be fueled by methane gas can find a great substitute in hydrogen“. And if the hydrogen is green, the substitute also becomes sustainable.
Not for this, however, according to the manager of Enea, is he able to solve the problem of energy supply on his own: “The energy transition is a path that has begun from which one cannot and must not go back. But it must be balanced: consequently, made with a view to energy mix. From this point of view, hydrogen plays an important role because it can create a fuel or a vector that can be used for smart sector integration actions, i.e. integration between the electricity and gas networks. It is a starting point: from a national, community and global perspective, it will play an important role“. The great demand for energy therefore needs a mixed response. And the fate of green hydrogen is intrinsically linked to that of its source, le renewable energies.
There European Union strategy for hydrogen foresees the realization by 2030 of an electrolysis capacity of 40 GW in member countries in addition to the possible production of another 40 GW from other countries. For the latter, as explained by theIspi, Morocco and Egypt they present themselves as natural candidates for the export of green hydrogen to European nations. “Producing green hydrogen means producing enough renewables to power it: an integrated system is needed. And the production of renewables will also depend on where you can do it best and at the best cost“. As we have learned dearly, the cost of energy is a fundamental variable in the modern economy. In the case of green hydrogen, it depends above all on the cost of renewables, as companies that can’t wait to open this new energy market are well aware.
A still high (and drugged) price
Looking at international benchmarks, the countries that are working hard to activate green hydrogen production are in particular Japan, States United and some of the European ones. Among them, the Scandinavians and especially the Germany. Linde Engineering is one of the big German industrialists who are dedicating themselves to the production of hydrogen: gray, blue (deriving from fossil fuels but without releasing Co2 into the atmosphere) and green. To give a dimension to its business volume, Linde created a turnover of over 2.5 billion dollars through the different types of this energy source.
“Hydrogen will play a significant role in the global energy mix, while mitigating the impact of global warming- tells a Wired John van der Velden, Linde senior vice president global sales & technology -. We need to decarbonise many industries and replace fossil fuels, especially gas. And hydrogen can be a very versatile solution even in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise. The hydrogen economy must be launched immediately: otherwise we will waste precious time decarbonising industry and mobility “. At Gastech 2022 the German company presented various hydrogen power solutions, with particular consideration for blue and green, both considered as evolutionary prospects towards the energy transition.
Despite the crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, the wind seems to be pulling in favor of hydrogen. The demand for this type of energy is growing, even in the blue and green versions, in many companies historically far from the concept of zero impact: “Afor example the steel industry – follows John van der Velden – And governments around the world have also made hydrogen one of their main pillars in an effort to achieve greater self-sufficiency and energy security“. The road seems to have been drawn: the economy, even the heavy one, and governments, even the largest ones, rely on green hydrogen.
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