Hydrogen will be the next media star after sun and wind. In his latest claim to fame, these are two spin-offs from the German technology conglomerate Siemens to combine forces Promote green hydrogen technology by building wind-to-hydrogen systems to decarbonise the global economy. Green hydrogen is touted as a solution to many climate problems: the element can be an energy carrier, it can be used to store energy and it can be used in fuel cells to power vehicles. Green hydrogen is a particularly attractive option because its production comes from hydrolyzing water using electricity produced by renewable systems, which means that it has a much lower carbon footprint than hydrogen from gas or coal.
Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy have therefore joined a growing group of green hydrogen advocates, many of whom see it as the ultimate solution to the planet’s pollution problem.
The two plan to invest $ 120 million over five years in the development of a fully integrated offshore wind-to-hydrogen system with a turbine containing an electrolysis system, the companies said in a press release this week. They are aiming for a full-scale demonstration of their pilot by 2025 or 2026.
“Our wind turbines play a huge role in decarbonising the global energy system, and the potential from wind to hydrogen means we can do this for hard-to-reduce industries as well. I am very proud that our people are playing a role in shaping a greener future, ”said Andreas Nauen, CEO of Siemens Gamesa. Related: Saudi Arabia Starts New Bull Run in Middle East Oil
“With these developments, the potential of regions with a lot of wind at sea will become accessible to the hydrogen economy. It is a good example of how we can store and transport wind energy, reducing the ecological footprint of the economy, ”said Christian Bruch, head of Siemens Energy.
But despite all its promises, the production of green hydrogen is not a problem-free technology. It is a very expensive technology that has led some experts to warn that it is unlikely to be economically viable for years and perhaps decades. And yet some are predicting major cost reductions for the technology.
For example, analysts from Wood Mackenzie wrote in a last year report that they expected green hydrogen production costs to drop by as much as 64 percent by 2040 and in some places even earlier.
“On average, the production costs of green hydrogen will be equal to hydrogen based on fossil fuels in 2040. In some countries, like Germany, that will arrive by 2030. Given the scaling up we’ve seen so far, the 2020s will likely be the decade. of hydrogen, ”wrote senior research analyst Ben Gallagher, the report’s author, adding,“ Rising fossil fuel prices will boost green competitiveness, further strengthening the case for this technology in the coming years. ”
And yet this cost reduction will require a considerable effort: currently, the production of green hydrogen costs between three and six times more than hydrogen from gas. On the other hand, the prices of hydrogen from gas can rise as the demand for gas increases, leveling the playing field somewhat. However, this suggests that green hydrogen would depend on gas prices for its competitiveness rather than technological advances that would make the process itself cheaper.
It is clear that the energy transition will entail costs. The question is, how high these costs will be and how much of the world can afford it. Solutions like the ones Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy are working on sound like the way to make the process cheaper and bring green hydrogen closer to regular reality. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that these solutions are region-specific rather than universal. For the time being, regular green hydrogen remains more of a promise than a reality.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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