In debates about climate change and a zero-emission economy, a magic word is often mentioned: hydrogen. It is well suited as a substitute for other energy sources in industry and transportation, but also for storage and building supply, because it leaves no harmful exhaust gases behind when burned. However, this miracle gas is only be climate-friendly if it is also produced with the help of renewable energies.
Policymakers are promoting the further development of hydrogen technologies. In June 2020, the German Federal Cabinet approved corresponding measures. These include subsidies for fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen filling stations and hydrogen production. Shortly after the German government, the EU Commission also followed suit with regard to hydrogen: In July 2020, it presented the EU Hydrogen Strategy as part of the Green Deal. The aim is to decarbonize hydrogen production. The Commission sees good opportunities for this due to the falling costs of renewable energies and technological progress. In addition, hydrogen is to be used in sectors where it can replace fossil fuels.
A rethink is also taking place in industry: "Companies are gradually converting steel production to hydrogen," says Frithjof Staiß, head of the ZSW Hydrogen Institute, in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. In addition to the steel industry, which has so far worked with CO2-intensive coke, the chemical industry, for example, has also begun to convert its production to hydrogen. "Companies are thinking: where is emissions trading going? Where are the prices for fossil-based products going? What is the cheaper alternative in the mid and long term?" continues Staiß.
Incidentally, anyone thinking about economic viability would do well to consider technical property rights in their own developments. Particularly in the field of hydrogen technologies, patents and the like can ensure that companies derive the greatest possible benefit from their innovations. "Protectable innovations can arise along the entire value chain," says Jan Ackermann, patent attorney and partner at Cohausz & Florack. This applies to the production, transport and storage as well as the use of hydrogen in a wide variety of forms, for example as a raw material or fuel in industry, as a synthetic fuel in transport, and as a source of electricity and heat in buildings, he adds.
But above all, in order to serve the sustainability concept, i.e. to produce green hydrogen, electrolysis capacities must be expanded and renewable energies must be made available in sufficient quantities. This is a task that will likely occupy politicians and industry for some time to come. The success of efforts to achieve a sustainable hydrogen economy will then also depend on how energy producers, grid operators and energy-intensive industries cooperate in the future and drive forward the development of necessary infrastructures and technologies. We can only hope that progress will be made quickly in this area. The climate will be grateful.
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