Once considered a key technology in the green energy transition, companies are waking up to find that hydrogen is not the answer to the challenges facing renewable energy sources such as wind and the sun. [emphasis, links added]
“Disappointment is not progress, especially the EU, especially Germany – increasingly criticized for its expensive projects,” the German online blackout news report said. “Companies are exiting.”
Hydrogen is expensive, dangerous and genuine technical challenges, which is economically feasible.
The gas is metallurgically aggressive, highly flammable and explosive. Its chemical properties make it difficult to manage a comprehensive infrastructure.
Furthermore, producing green hydrogen is “little ineffective” and the industry is reluctant to use volatile gases because it has the risk of being profitable.
According to an analysis by Westwood Global Energy Group, high costs, low demand and insufficient political scale are currently jeopardizing the strategy: “By 2030, only a small portion of the planned EU hydrogen pipeline may be operating.”
Germany has already funded an ambitious green hydrogen project in a protected desert area in Namibia, which is now likely to demolish the port expansion as the country's new president is reportedly reevaluating the project and looking for a potential shift to an established oil sector.
Technical analysis shows that hydrogen is only suitable for selective energy sources.
Unless there is a significant change, the EU's hydrogen strategy has the potential to be a costly failure.
Top image via Wärtsiläcorporation/YouTube screenshot
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