Hydrogen

The European Commission has outlined a long-anticipated plan it says could unlock up to €340 billion for new solar and wind projects over the next decade. The 30-year strategy envisages up to €470 billion being spent on electrolyzer capacity.

Renewables are the best way for Europe to decarbonize, the Choose Renewable Hydrogen coalition said this week, prior to the upcoming release of its hydrogen and energy-system integration plan.

Funded by the bloc’s Emissions Trading System, the warchest will look to spend more than €10 billion on bringing clean energy innovations to market over the next decade. The scheme will work with other green recovery programs to secure jobs and lay a foundation on which to restart the European economy.

In an update to a report it published earlier this year, Norway-headquartered consultancy DNV GL outlined the role it sees for both seasonal heat storage and pumped hydro to help manage the 1.4 TW of variable renewable energy capacity it forecasts to be connected to European electricity grids by 2050. DNV GL maintains the original report’s conclusion that where seasonal storage is concerned, hydrogen will be the first option.

A study into the clean energy tech innovation rate required to keep global heating under control may suggest concepts such as lithium-air could yet keep us to the mid-century ambition, but it is also starting to contemplate the temperature rise to be expected if we only achieve net-zero by 2070.

The heads of state of the 27 EU member states agreed to resist calls from a reported eight countries to expand the nature of projects eligible for energy transition support beyond renewables.

Corporate power purchase agreements and the combination of PV plants with hydrogen production open up new medium-term financing opportunities for solar projects, as was demonstrated at the fourth session of the pv magazine Roundtable Europe event. The evolution of corporate deals may have been slowed by current price developments but hydrogen may come sooner than many had predicted.

Hydrogen-fueled aviation has a realistic chance of helping the sector achieve climate goals, according to a European Union-commissioned study.

The road to cheap hydrogen production is riddled with potholes and energy losses. Researchers in Australia have demonstrated rethinking solar technology and skipping electrolysers could hold great promise for reaching the hydrogen holy grail.

The European Commission has sent the European Green Deal on its way and a preliminary version of its anticipated hydrogen strategy has been leaked. The plan does not lack ambition, as the EU seeks to assert tech leadership in green hydrogen through coordinated efforts across the value chain.