TSEP#188 Global Race for Green Hydrogen – Just Hype or the Key to a Sustainable Energy Future?

The smarter E Podcast

A net-zero world would require 306 million tonnes of green hydrogen to be produced annually by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That would require something in the region of 3,000GW of electrolysers and 6,000GW of renewable energy, based on current technology. Considering the world had only installed 3,371GW of renewables by the end of last year (according to the International Renewable Energy Agency [Irena]) — and that the planet will need about 30,000GW of renewable energy to decarbonise the global electricity supply, that’s a fairly tall order. Based on the notion that economies of scale would reduce the cost of green hydrogen production, several developers have announced massive and extremely ambitious projects that aim to meet much of the world's future demand for clean H2.

But what is the current situation? Is the strong expansion of green hydrogen projects succeeding worldwide? Do we even need them for a sustainable, future-proof energy industry? We talk about this with Dr. Thomas Hillig, Founder of THEnergy.

Timeline

• 02:13 Hydrogen seems to be all about Gigawatt projects – if we read the latest news. Is this true or fiction?

• 04:00 Less than one percent of the hydrogen produced worldwide still comes from renewable sources and can therefore claim to be "green". Can green hydrogen even be economically viable in the long term?

• 06:09 Why are so few projects being realized? A few years ago, we read in the media about numerous major projects in the hydrogen sector; it seemed to be the next big thing?

• 10:13 Is hydrogen comparable to solar 15 years ago (when it was still more of a niche product)?

• 15:18 Which are the most promising applications for green hydrogen?

• 19:13 Where will green hydrogen be produced? And what about electrolyzers?

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