Green hydrogen technologies are still in their infancy, but the EU will have to make important decisions on the future of the gas in its energy mix within the next few months, setting out a clear roadmap for creating and regulating the market in hydrogen, scaling-up innovations and agreeing a definition of ‘low-carbon’ hydrogen.
Hydrogen is seen as a critical component of greening Europe’s energy market and delivering on the aim of becoming the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050. While renewable electricity will lead the way, hydrogen is expected to replace natural gas in industries that cannot be easily electrified, such as steel production and aviation. In 2050, the gas could make up as much as 23% of the EU energy mix.
The European Commission presented the EU hydrogen strategy in July 2020, setting goals for the scale-up of renewable hydrogen technology and calling for €470 billion in investments for the next thirty years. By 2030, the Commission hopes to have 40GW of electrolysers in the EU, producing up to 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen each year.
As with other renewable fuels, there is a cost barrier to get over, in that currently electrolysers are costly and not efficient enough to power a competitive hydrogen economy. To bring the technology to the market, the EU needs to make major investments in research and innovation.
Scientists at our institute in the Laboratory of Materials for Energy Harvesting and Storage are also engaged in the research of hydrogen technologies.
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