Greening industry through a transition to hydrogen societies

Hydrogen offers great potential to help green the energy sector and diversify the economy; however, the technology’s development needs to be supported by tailored policies and closer collaboration between governments and industry to ensure everyone can benefit from it.

Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe. Thanks to its energy storage capabilities, it has outstanding potential, to provide stability for the renewable energy sector, which currently lacks sufficient storage to provide grid balancing.

“We have to think about what happens if we increase renewables, such as wind and solar, EU-wide to a share of 50 to 80 percent of our electricity production. In such scenarios, there will be times when demand cannot absorb this electricity and therefore we need to develop storage solutions. And here comes hydrogen,” said Michael Losch, Director General for Energy and Mining in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism. “The essential new idea is to inject the hydrogen into the existing gas grid, substituting fossil natural gas with green electrolysis-produced hydrogen.”

Current advances in its production through electrolysis and related technologies, including fuel cells, as well as its versatile characteristics, offer holistic solutions to reduce global GHG emissions. The transition to hydrogen societies supports a true paradigm shift in the area of more efficient energy storage, especially for renewable energy on industrial scale. It furthermore offers an opportunity for an integrated energy system based on renewable energy through sector coupling.

While the technology is maturing, the policy and regulatory framework remains insufficient throughout the world. Consequently, the recipe for success calls for the continuous partnership between the government, industry and academia.

“In the hydrogen economy, two hands are needed to clap: industry and policymakers,” said Eric Sebellin, Vice president for Markets and Strategy at Air Liquide.

Original source: UNIDO
Published on 18 April 2019