The process involves the passage of electric current through an electrolyzer. Green hydrogen is considered carbon-free; therefore, even the electricity utilized for electrolysis should be generated through renewable sources. Several global researchers & scientists concur that green hydrogen can emerge as a befitting solution to mitigate the burgeoning problem of global warming and help achieve a green gas-neutral economy by 2050.
The energy sector of European nations has been undergoing a delicate phase since the coronavirus outbreak owing to the economic slowdown. Most of the power generating plants remained shut and could not ramp up as expected to meet the increasing energy demand across the continent. As per the figures released by Eurostat, in 2020, the gross energy production across the European countries was 2,781 TWh, which dropped by 4.2 percent compared with 2019 statistics. The deteriorated situation of the energy sector has been worsened post the Russia-Ukraine military combat initiated in February 2022. Europe is reliant on Russia to fulfil natural gas demand, and the gas is being supplied from Russia to Western Europe since 2011 through the world’s biggest single pipeline, North Streamline 1. However, after the sanctions imposed by Western states including the UK and Germany against Russian states and their businesses operating globally, the continent retaliated by curtailing the supply of natural gas, which powers heat buildings and several gigantic power-generating plants, skyrocketing European gas prices to over 10-folds their average historical values.
Europe can transform this grave problem of fuel shortage into a golden opportunity by switching its key source of energy. EU has been one of the leading contributors to mitigating the problem of global warming by imposing stringent regulations on industries, vehicles, residential, and commercial buildings, etc. to restrict carbon emissions. That’s why, the nation has opted for natural gas to light skyscrapers and power elongated manufacturing units established across the states, as it is considered the cleanest fossil fuel. In 2020, renewable energy sources held the major share in the overall energy production across the continent by generating 1,086 TWh of electricity, which was more than 1,012 TWh of electricity collectively generated through all the fossil fuels including coal, natural gas, and manufactured gas, according to the stats published by europa.eu. Moreover, the hard coal consumption by Europe in the year 2021 has likely to be reached 160 million tonnes, almost 27 percent less than in 2017.
Green hydrogen can emerge as a revolutionary source for the EU energy industry due to diversified reasons, which include its ubiquitous accessibility, convenient storage, effective decarbonization ability, carbon-free, quick dispersive property (for safety measures), high energy efficiency, etc. Conversely, there are certain challenges, which European energy sector has to deal with before commercializing green hydrogen as a leading source of power. Some of the problems associated with green hydrogen include its extremely low density, significantly high production cost, metal embrittlement property, need for a novel infrastructure for gas supply & distribution, ineffective liquefaction, and need for designing & launching a markedly different segment of the automotive sector including an exclusive gas turbine & robust fuel storage, etc.
Green hydrogen production is an exorbitant process, costing €3.50 to €6 per kilogram, according to a published study in Nature Climate Change journal. In addition, over 50 percent of the total energy generated by hydrogen combustion is consumed in creating and compressing it, hence left with half of its efficiency. Compared to natural gas production, green hydrogen costs around three-fold owing to the expensive process of electrolysis. Based on the numbers released on the official web portal of the European Union (EU), the average price of electricity being levied by the EU to household customers is €0.2367 per kWh. Considering the equivalent tariffs, the average cost for green hydrogen-fueled electricity would be around €0.7 per kWh.
Europe is now taking every step heading toward energy transition. In July 2020, the European Commission (EC) published its hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe, which not only comprises a detailed work plan for the establishment but also includes the scale-up of value chains based on green hydrogen production. Furthermore, to curb the energy crisis and climate change, Ursula von Der Leyen, President of EC, announced on September 14, 2022, to establish a new European Hydrogen Bank aimed to build a robust pipeline of investment, thereby connecting future supply and demand.
Ingenious e-Brain Solutions (IEBS) anticipates that regulatory frameworks of various countries are focused on promoting the CO2 valorization and usage of green hydrogen, which are prerequisites for e-fuels such as renewable methanol, methanol-to-X, green ammonia, etc. Stronger international cooperation is a key lever to accelerating the adoption of green hydrogen. IEBS’ analysts expect that green hydrogen will play a vital role in the net-zero emissions scenario and energy transitions that will be a significant impact on the value chain across the industries and end-user. Green hydrogen is one of the key focus areas of European countries as their ambition is to accelerate the adoption of green hydrogen.
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