Green hydrogen
Green hydrogen is essential for achieving the Paris climate protection goals; it contributes significantly to a sustainable energy future.
Green hydrogen plays a key role in the decarbonization of carbon-intensive sectors – providing significant emissions reductions in industry and transportation. In addition, green hydrogen can serve as a storage medium for renewable energies. Thanks to fuel cells, green hydrogen can be converted into electricity and heat.
Green hydrogen is derived from renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy or hydropower and produces no carbon-based emissions when burned or used. It is produced by electrolysis, in which water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. The hydrogen produced can then be used as an environmentally friendly energy carrier in various sectors of the economy.
The most important areas of application are the chemical industry, because hydrogen is the starting point of important chemical value chains, and the steel industry, where green hydrogen is expected to replace the classic coal blast furnaces. In addition, hydrogen can heat kilns, for example in the glass, cement and steel industries. In transportation, hydrogen is particularly relevant in those areas where electrification is not possible in the foreseeable future: air, long-distance, heavy-duty, and marine transportation. Here, hydrogen forms the feedstock for synthetic fuels, allowing these transport sectors to be modified in a climate-friendly way.
Examples for the promotion of the green hydrogen economy in European countries
Due to its high potential to transform the largest greenhouse gas emitters in a climate-friendly way, massive investments are being made in green hydrogen. There are numerous initiatives and projects in Europe to develop sustainable solutions for hydrogen production, hydrogen transportation, products and applications.
- Denmark is a pioneer in the use of green hydrogen. In the west of the country, in the Danish municipality of Ringkøbing-Skjern, one of the world's largest green energy parks is to be built by 2030. The target is an annual production of one million tons of green hydrogen.
- The Netherlands has ambitious plans for the use of green hydrogen. A large hydrogen plant is being developed in Rotterdam to provide green hydrogen for the transportation sector and industry.
- Spain has the potential to become a major producer of green hydrogen. The country has already met its targets for green hydrogen capacity, exceeding them by a factor of four: Spain has 15.5 gigawatts of capacity - the original target for 2030 was 4 GW.
- Germany plans to use green hydrogen in various sectors, especially in the chemical industry, steel production and heavy-duty transport. The German government's National Hydrogen Strategy aims to make green hydrogen marketable and enable its industrial production, transportability and usability.
