Before going on vacation, there is always an especially large amount to do. The desk and the inbox should be as empty as possible, so that one can truly relax and really hit the ground running in the fall. There are certain parallels to the hydrogen economy.
A whole batch of funded projects is in the middle of implementation or nearing completion. Thyssenkrupp has ordered its first large-scale delivery of hydrogen for green steel production, though only for the next seven years. In a Bavarian town, ten homes are now using hydrogen for heating, delivered by truck.
These projects show what is moving forward, namely pilot projects, and what is still missing, namely the overall long-term concept and the infrastructure. The problem is well known. Anyone who wants to solve it must set a clear framework and, in several places at once, both support and require action. Examples include the rollout of filling stations and the procurement of H2 trucks, as is now happening in Germany. The approach is so obvious that one wonders: why not do it this way from the start?
Merely requiring the use of hydrogen, on the other hand, is an excellent method for letting the technology starve at arm’s length. German law, for example, now requires that power plants operate climate-neutrally from 2045 onward and therefore must already be built H2-ready today. Sounds good. It can work, but only if hydrogen production or imports are pushed forward with similar intensity. However, the majority of hydrogen production projects in Germany have so far been awaiting a final investment decision due to unclear prospects. Investors in the MENA region criticize Europe for its lack of commitment to jump-starting green hydrogen and for its complicated regulations.
Germany’s federal government is setting the course for austerity. Writing into law that power plants should run on hydrogen somewhere down the road does not cost much. If it then turns out, strangely enough, that there is not enough hydrogen and that the specific cost of transporting and storing it is prohibitively high, especially for the turbines, we will simply have to stick with natural gas. What a shame – but who could have known?
But we are not there yet. Projects that were kicked off years ago are now moving forward. Their momentum carries energy, and they show what is feasible. It is high time to put this energy to political use.
Otherwise, the current tasks will be completed soon, and the vacation may last longer than we would like.
