In focus: Why clean hydrogen is becoming undeniable

The European Clean Hydrogen Alliance has identified a pipeline of over 750 projects that European industry is undertaking to roll out the hydrogen economy on a large scale in Europe.

The project pipeline is based on a collection of projects from over 1,500 members of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance that were subsequently assessed by the European Commission against a set of criteria, including greenhouse gas emission reduction, minimum size, and project maturity.

The pipeline was launched as part of the European Commission’s European Hydrogen Week where discussions revolved around the European Union’s goal of developing at least 6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable hydrogen electrolysers by 2024 and the objective to scale up to 40 gigawatts by 2030.

The Alliance members submitted over 1,000 projects, over 750 of which were deemed viable investments by the Commission.

Located in all four corners of Europe, the projects range from clean hydrogen production to its use in industry, mobility, energy, and buildings.

Members of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance whose projects were identified as viable investments include oil and gas majors and offshore renewable energy developers such as bp, Shell, TotalEnergies, Repsol, Eni, Equinor, Ørsted, Iberdrola, RWE, Vattenfall, EnBW, EDF, EDP, ENGIE, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and more.

The pipeline also includes projects involving the leading chemicals producer, BASF, the Unilever consumer goods group, the multinational steel manufacturing corporation ArcelorMittal, some of the leading technology companies such as ABB, Siemens Energy, and Bosch, the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, as well as the marine engine makers Rolls-Royce and Wärtsilä, among others.

446 projects in the pipeline are related to the production of clean hydrogen, with capacities ranging from 912 MW to 8 kW.

206 of these projects are scheduled to reach maturity between 2021 and 2030, including the PosHYdon project spearheaded by Neptune Energy Netherlands, expected to reach maturity in 2021, bp’s H2-Fifty project in the Port of Rotterdam in 2022, Port of Antwerp’s Power to Methanol project in 2023, Uniper’s 500 MW H2Maasvlakte in the Port of Rotterdam in 2025, H2-Industries’ AquaVentus in Germany in 2025, Shell’s and Vattenfall’s Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub in 2025, RWE’s 400 MW Clean Hydrogen Coastline in 2026, Uniper’s Luleå Hydrogen Hub – Bothnia Link H2 in 2027, and others.

One of the more interesting projects is Haldane. Spearheaded by the offshore engineering solutions provider, Aquaterra Energy, renewable hydrogen producer, and supplier, Lhyfe, and offshore drilling contractor, Borr Drilling, the project aims to develop a concept for offshore green hydrogen production by using a converted jack-up rig in the North Sea. Haldane is expected to reach maturity in 2026.

489 of the projects in the pipeline aim at decarbonising the hard to abate sectors such as industrial applications, mobility, and buildings.

Several initiatives are already underway in order to provide the options for the clean hydrogen that is produced to reach these sectors.

Just this week, DNV announced that it was contracted by the Ready4H2 project to lead a study that will produce a roadmap for European hydrogen distribution networks.

The Ready4H2 initiative was recently launched to support the development of a hydrogen market in Europe. The project currently consists of some 80 organizations from about 15 countries, representing more than 1.5 million kilometres of pipeline across Europe.

Turning offshore, world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, built by Japanese corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), Suiso Frontier, started trading in 2021.

Several other shipbuilders and ship designers are in the process of designing their own hydrogen carriers including GEV, and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE).

The clean hydrogen produced as part of these projects could find its use offshore either as marine fuel, or it could be used to produce other types of clean fuel such as methanol and ammonia.

The maritime industry seems to be ready to embrace clean hydrogen as the main fuel source. Just today, Norwegian technology group Kongsberg said it tested and verified the world’s first full-scale, full-size, zero-emission drivetrain powered by hydrogen fuel cells designed for ships and ferries.

The program is the third and final part of the EU-funded project “HySeas” which has been running since 2013 to prepare and demonstrate a scalable hydrogen system for ships and ferries.

A recent report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has found that up to 80 per cent of CO2 emissions attributed to international maritime shipping could be cut by mid-century if conventional fuels are replaced by renewable fuels based on green hydrogen and advanced biofuels.

Clean hydrogen is here to stay

Given the sheer volume of the projects in the pipeline, the profile of the companies involved in the projects, and the apparent political support behind this nascent industry, clean hydrogen seems well positioned to become one of the leading drivers behind the effort to move away from conventional energy sources and towards a more sustainable solution.

The question that remains to be answered is if the supply of this clean energy source will be matched by the demand. Again, judging by the companies involved which will be the end users of the product, it seems that clean hydrogen has the market all sewn up.