Facing the increasingly serious energy crisis, EU countries have turned their attention to hydrogen energy. Following the determination of hydrogen import trade with Norway, Mozambique, Namibia and other countries, EU countries have also aimed at the Middle East.
On March 22, German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck went to the UAE to finalize an import agreement. It is expected that blue hydrogen will be imported from the UAE for the first time this year. As a "low-carbon fuel" that countries are generally optimistic about, hydrogen energy has become a "sweet pastry" in the field of alternative energy in EU countries.
Constantly looking for imported hydrogen sources
According to European media Euractiv, Robert Habeck reached two major agreements with the UAE during this visit: one is the hydrogen transport agreement signed by the German utility Uniper, the UAE national oil company ADNOC, and the Japanese consortium JERA, and the other is the German utility company. Energy companies such as company RWE, coal-to-electricity operator Steag and ADNOC have signed an agreement with ADNOC for the transport of blue ammonia, which will be used as a carrier for hydrogen. At the same time, the UAE and Germany have also reached a cooperation agreement on scientific research institutes, and will jointly promote the research and development of hydrogen energy technology in the future.
The German government pointed out in a public statement: "The UAE has ideal climate conditions to produce cost-competitive hydrogen. The cooperation between Germany and the UAE will not only help Germany achieve its climate goals, but also help Germany defend its energy security. ."
It is worth noting that a week before the signing with the UAE, Germany and Norway have just reached an agreement on the construction of a large hydrogen transportation pipeline, and began planning to transport hydrogen from Norway to Germany.
It is understood that up to now, Germany has reached bilateral hydrogen energy cooperation agreements with African countries such as Namibia, South Africa and Morocco. Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries have also announced that they will accelerate the construction of port hydrogen energy infrastructure and achieve higher hydrogen capacity within five years. .
In February this year, European Commission climate chief Frans Timmermans pointed out at the "Europe-Africa Business Forum" that Africa has the best potential for renewable energy development in the world, and the expansion of renewable energy will help Africa accelerate hydrogen production, which will also Diversify African economies.
New option for "Energy Security"
According to industry insiders, with the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, EU member states are increasingly concerned about energy security. In the recently announced energy strategy, the EU clearly stated that in the short term, it will expand natural gas storage as much as possible, reduce energy dependence on Russia, accelerate the development of renewable energy in the long run, and make green hydrogen an important fulcrum of the EU economy.
The EU also announced a 300 million euro hydrogen energy financing plan, which aims to promote the development of hydrogen energy technology in member states and expand green hydrogen production as soon as possible. Frans Timmermans said: "The moment has come when energy fragility must be addressed and the EU needs to make an independent choice in the energy sector."
Judging from the current hydrogen energy strategy announced by the EU, by 2030, the hydrogen production capacity of electrolyzed water within the EU needs to reach at least 40 million kilowatts.
According to a recent calculation released by Aurora, a European energy research institute, most of the countries with the lowest green hydrogen production costs in the world are located in the Middle East. Among them, Qatar has the lowest production cost of green hydrogen, which is about 2.62 US dollars/kg, and the UAE green hydrogen cost is about 4.51 US dollars. /kilogram. In contrast, the natural gas price in Europe is currently high, and the cost of blue hydrogen is already higher than US$6/kg. At the same time, due to factors such as the cost of renewable energy power generation, the cost of green hydrogen in the Netherlands remains at US$14.66/kg, which is not only much higher than In the Middle East and Africa, it is even higher than the cost of producing hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and storage. It is generally believed in the industry that at a time when the demand for hydrogen is high but the cost is high, to meet the demand for hydrogen in the EU, importing has become an inevitable choice for the EU.
Replacing existing energy sources remains a challenge
Although the EU has made frequent actions, there are also doubts that there has been a dispute within the EU over the use of blue hydrogen or green hydrogen. At the same time, the development of renewable energy is not as good as expected. This time the EU seeks to use hydrogen energy as an alternative energy. Can it effectively solve the problem? The energy crisis is still unknown.
Up to now, most of the countries that have reached a hydrogen energy cooperation agreement with the EU have abundant natural gas resources, while the global scale of green hydrogen production is still relatively small. Judging from the signed agreement, hydrogen imported by Germany from the United Arab Emirates or Norway will initially still be produced from natural gas. The production of hydrogen from natural gas, with or without carbon capture and storage, is an energy-intensive process, and blue hydrogen likely does not comply with EU sustainability rules. At the same time, natural gas may release a large amount of methane during use, which also reduces the "climate-friendly" properties of blue hydrogen.
James Watson, Secretary-General of Eurogas, the European energy industry organization, said: "Although the European Commission has put forward the idea of using hydrogen energy as an alternative energy source, it still needs to clarify the specific implementation path. Whether it is hydrogen energy or other low-carbon gases such as biogas, the EU's definition has always been Ambiguity, which is likely to lead to a delay in the final investment decision. In addition, the issue of slow approval of renewable energy projects in EU countries has not been resolved, which will not only affect the speed of green hydrogen expansion, but even directly affect the electrification goals of the EU, In the end it will only make Europe more dependent on imports for energy."
In addition, Euractiv quoted a number of European energy industry sources as saying that there is a serious shortage of LNG and hydrogen infrastructure in EU countries. Even if construction starts now, it will take several years to complete. In a short period of time, Europe is receiving low-carbon fuels. There are bottlenecks.
