Hydrogen could disrupt, reshape global energy value chains: GMIS-2020
A keynote address by Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany, was followed by a panel session moderated by Holger Lösch, Deputy Director General of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), on ‘The Global Hydrogen Economy – Transforming into a Sustainable Industry and Creating New Industrial Value Chains.’ Winkelmeier-Becker said: Making European industry greener, more digital and more resilient is the main goal of our industrial policy. If the industrial sector is to become more independent and resilient, innovative and strategic value chains across Europe and key enabling technologies are of crucial importance. We are determined to continue to promote and give new impetus to the energy transition. Hydrogen that is produced in a climate-friendly manner permits significant reductions in carbon emissions, particularly in industry and transport,» WAM reports.
The panel included Armin Schnettler, CEO, New Energy Business Siemens Energy & President VDE – Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies, Dr. Kirsten Westphal, German Institute for International and Security Affairs and Member of the National Hydrogen Council, and Daniel Mills, Product Manager Hydrogen and Clean Energy at Linde Australia (BOC).
Producing electricity from renewable energy resources is likely to be the single most effective way to address climate change and meet emissions targets in the future. However, to reach the Paris Agreement climate targets, there has to be more consideration of the ‘green molecule’, because the world, and especially industry, also runs on gaseous fuels. Attention has increasingly turned to the potential of hydrogen and its derivatives to substitute fossil fuels in energy intensive industrial sectors to reach climate targets.
The panel discussed the challenges of developing a global market and building global value chains for hydrogen and the role that it could play in reducing carbon footprint. Dr. Kirsten Westphal said that renewables have transformed the global energy landscape and that hydrogen could potentially have a similar impact in the future. Hydrogen has often been referred to as ‘the oil of the future’ but there is still a long way to go before we see a global hydrogen market on a comparable level to the existing oil market, she said. However, Westphal added that a global hydrogen market, if eventually created, would look very different to current oil markets and could potentially offer more flexibility because hydrogen can be produced using renewable energy. This would lead to the development of energy value chains that include opportunities for countries rich in renewable energy as well as opportunities for countries that produce the technology.
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