The potential consequences of the European Union's Clean Hydrogen strategy in relation to exacerbating our global climate emergency.
The European Commission finds itself in a delicate balancing act, as fossil energy-dependent firms push for a 'technology-neutral' approach to rapidly scale up clean hydrogen production. This comes as the EU published its Hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe in July, aiming to revolutionize the energy sector and pave the way for a fully decarbonized economy.
However, the road to this green vision is fraught with challenges. The EU estimates that green hydrogen produced using a proton exchange membrane electrolysis method (PEM) would be triple the costs of grey hydrogen, primarily produced from coal or gas. This near-term hydrogen economy dependence on 'grey' hydrogen is concerning, as it locks in a future dependence on fossil gas.
To address this issue, the EU's strategy focuses on the development of a 'low-carbon hydrogen production process in the transition phase,' or 'blue' hydrogen. The European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, a group including companies such as Air Liquide, Siemens Energy, Shell, BASF, Iberdrola, Thyssenkrupp, and TotalEnergies, among others, has been established to guide investments needed to scale up hydrogen and realize its green potential.
Yet, the question remains: can blue hydrogen deliver on its green promises? The International Energy Agency's Future of Hydrogen report states that producing the current amount of hydrogen requires 205 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 107 million tons of coal each year. Moreover, few projects are actually burying anthropogenic carbon, making it impossible to prove that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can sequester at scale a significant portion of the CO2 humans have created.
Adding to the concerns, many of the heralded CCS projects worldwide have shut down over the past year, and few have hit their intended storage targets. Norway's state-owned energy firm, Equinor, is the only one offering up some of its depleting gas fields as future CO2 sequestration space. However, the EU has no large-scale storage facilities ready to receive carbon within its 27 member states.
The continued subterfuge surrounding fossil gas and fugitive methane, and the disconnect between Main Street's pain and Wall Street's windfall, warrant a high level of skepticism towards clean energy plans championed by an unholy alliance of fossil energy companies. The only way to realize a green hydrogen vision is to open the floodgates to an all-of-the-above renewable energy expansion and develop an end market that can sustain high electrolyzer utilization rates.
Despite these challenges, hydrogen power could be a game changer for a fully decarbonized economy. The EU's strategy to rapidly scale green hydrogen production alongside renewable electrification offers a glimmer of hope for a cleaner, greener future. The key lies in maintaining a balanced approach, ensuring that the pursuit of clean hydrogen does not inadvertently lock us into a future dependence on fossil fuels.
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