H2Tech - Q1 2022 - 16

REGIONAL REPORT: EUROPE
H2 production, renewable energy costs are forecast to
decrease, making it a more affordable option for use in
industrial sectors (e.g., steel, transportation and power).
* Phase 3 (2030-2050): Renewable H2
production
in nearly all sectors of the EU, including aviation,
shipping, and in industrial and building applications.
According to the EC's H2
reaches maturity and can be deployed at a wide scale
throughout the EU. This phase envisions the use of green
H2
strategy report, EU investments
in electrolyzer capacity builds could range between €24 B ($27
B) and €42 B ($47 B) by 2030. In addition, increasing and connecting
renewable power sources (i.e., solar and wind) to the
region's electrolyzers for power generation could cost €220
B-€340 B ($248 B-$384 B) within the same timeframe. Another
€65 B ($73 B) is needed to enhance the EU's H2
transportation
and storage systems.
Regardless of the capital costs, nearly all EU nations are
investing in new H2 infrastructure and production capacity to
fulfill the obligations set out in the Paris Agreement to decarbonize
the region by 2050.
EU H2 project investments. At the European Clean Hydrovalue
chain
producMost
of these projects,
production, the
approximately 36%, are H2 production facilities (FIG. 1). This
includes several different avenues towards H2
primary path being through green H2 production (i.e., using
renewable sources to produce H2). At 19%, the mobility sector
holds the second largest market share in active projects, followed
by industrial applications (14%) and transmission and
distribution (13%).
According to Gulf Energy Information's Global Energy Infrastructure
database, most active H2
projects in Europe are in
Germany, followed by the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Norway and
France (FIG. 2).
However, these projects, and the wide-scale use of H2
several hurdles, chiefly:
, face
36% H2
production
12% Energy sector
6% Buildings
13% Transmission
and distribution
19% Mobility
14% Industrial
applications
FIG. 1. Europe's H2 project pipeline by sector. Source: European Clean
Hydrogen Alliance.
16 Q1 2022 | H2-Tech.com
gen Alliance's Hydrogen Forum event in late 2021, the alliance
unveiled more than 1,000 projects to promote a H2
in Europe. These investments include projects for H2
tion, transmission and distribution, and use in industry, transport,
energy systems and buildings.5
* A large-scale infrastructure buildout, requiring a
critical mass in investment and cooperation among
corporate and country partners
* The development of an enabling regulatory framework
for H2
markets and source certification
* Technology breakthroughs to offer new solutions
for producing, using, storing and transporting
green molecules
* A significant scale-up in renewable power capacities
* Necessary, further reductions in H2
The following will provide major H2
by both region and individual countries in the EU.
European Hydrogen Backbone. For the large scale consumption
of H2
in the EU, an intricate, vast H2
infrastructure and
delivery system is needed. The European Hydrogen Backbone
initiative is to build a network of supply lines to connect H2
supplies to demand centers throughout Europe. If built, the vast
network would include the construction of 6,800 km of pipelines
by 2030, reaching nearly 23,000 km by 2040.6
vs. building new pipelines), the
total costs for the system could range between €27 B-€64 B.
A separate investment that could complement the European
Hydrogen Backbone project is the Central European Hydrogen
Corridor. The capital-intensive project would include the
construction of more than 1,700 km of pipeline that would
deliver green H2
highway could be operational by 2030.
supplies from the Ukraine to Germany and
other EU nations. At the time of this publication, the project
partners-EUSTREAM, Gas TSO of Ukraine, NET4GAS and
OGE-are conducting a technical feasibility study. If built, the
H2
Denmark. The GreenHyScale project's goal is to test the deployment
of electrolysis in both onshore and offshore applications.
Phase 1 includes the installation of a 6-MW electrolyzer,
followed by Phase 2 which will expand the electrolyzer module
to 100 MW. Phase 2 is scheduled to begin operations by 2025.
The project will help test the factory-assembled modules for
rapid onsite installation, helping to bring cost parity of green
H2
generation and fossil fuels.
Finland. To reduce emissions at the Porvoo refinery, Neste is
investing in the green H2
and CO2
capture and storage project.
The project, currently in the feasibility stage, will increase both
carbon capture and storage (CCS) and electrolysis solutions to
decarbonize refining operations.
France. The nation has initiated several plans to increase H2
production and usage in the country. First, several companies
are investing in new electrolyzer capacity to decarbonize the
country's transportation sector. This includes the construction
of new H2
ered cabs to several other cities in the EU.
Storengy, Armines/Polytechnique, Inovyn, Esk, Element
Energy and Axelera are developing the Hydrogen Pilot Storage
for Large Ecosystem Replication (HyPSTER) project in Etrez.
production costs.
projects and initiatives
Depending
on the use of existing pipelines in the region (i.e., converting
existing assets to transport H2
fueling stations to power a carbon-free mobility sector.
Hype plans to deploy 10,000 zero-emission cabs in Paris by
2025. The company also plans to expand the use of H2
-pow
http://www.H2-Tech.com
H2Tech - Q1 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of H2Tech - Q1 2022
