pwr_january-2025 - 11

GLOBAL MONITOR
Andy Kinsella, CEO and founding partner
of Aer Soléir, said, " Since its inception
in 2021, Aer Soléir has been committed
to advancing Greece's energy transition.
Supported by our investors Quantum
Capital Group and 547 Energy, our project
finance partners, the National Bank of
Greece and the European Union's Recovery
and Resilience Facility, and our local
development partner Enteka, we are investing
more than €500 million [$524 million]
in wind projects across Greece. We
are proud that our projects are significantly
contributing to the Greek Government's
renewable energy goals and are delighted
to be partnering with Amazon. "
Amazon officials said that between
2014 and 2022, the company's investments
in renewable energy across Europe
" enabled an estimated €2.4 billion
[$2.52 billion] for the regional economy
and helped contribute more than €723
million [$758 million] to the region's GDP
[gross domestic product]. "
-Darrell Proctor is a senior editor
for POWER.
Scaling Production of Green
Hydrogen with Water Electrolysis
Green hydrogen is a crucial component
in the global effort to decarbonize hardto-abate
sectors, like long-haul transportation,
construction, and manufacturing.
A process first discovered in the early
19th century may hold the key to scaling
its production.
This clean fuel is produced by splitting
water molecules using renewable electricity,
a process called electrolysis. Unlike
traditional hydrogen, which is often produced
using fossil fuels, green hydrogen
creates no carbon emissions, making it a
promising option for industries with ambitious
sustainability goals.
BloombergNEF predicts that lowcarbon
hydrogen production-green
hydrogen and blue hydrogen, which is
produced by steaming natural gas but
also produces carbon dioxide (CO2
)-will
skyrocket from 0.5 million metric tons this
year to 16.4 million metric tons by 2030.
By that time, according to BloombergNEF,
electrolysis will be responsible for nearly
60% of production. This growth shows
how seriously countries and companies
are taking hydrogen's potential to help
meet climate goals.
The U.S. introduced tax incentives
for clean hydrogen, which the Department
of Energy says can decarbonize
up to 25% of energy-related CO2
emissions
worldwide. Similarly, the European
Union started a Hydrogen Bank in 2022
January 2025 | POWER
to help finance renewable hydrogen
production. Japan updated its hydrogen
strategy in 2023, setting a water electrolyzer
capacity target of 15 GW by 2030,
and China announced its first hydrogen
strategy in 2022, targeting 100,000 to
200,000 tonnes of annual hydrogen production
by 2025.
Despite these incentives and targets, a
significant increase in production is needed
to meet expected demand and achieve
decarbonization goals. Moving forward
will require overcoming technological, infrastructure,
and economic hurdles while
taking advantage of new trends and solutions
in the green hydrogen field.
Recent advancements in alkaline water
electrolysis are improving efficiency
and scalability. The development of modular,
scalable systems used in projects
like the 10-MW Fukushima Hydrogen
Energy Research Field (FH2R) in Japan
demonstrates the large-scale feasibility
of water electrolysis to revolutionize
green hydrogen production.
A multi-module hydrogen pilot plant
opened in Kawasaki, Japan, in May 2024,
after successful, long-term tests at FH2R.
This new facility, which uses four 0.8-MW
modules, is a step toward larger 100 MWclass
systems for commercial green hydrogen
production (Figure 4).
While green hydrogen shows immense
potential
for decarbonization,
several significant challenges must be addressed
to scale up production. Current
electrolysis technologies struggle with
efficiency, with energy conversion rates
from electricity to hydrogen needing improvement
for economic viability. Cost
considerations also remain a significant
barrier to widespread adoption, as green
hydrogen production costs are still higher
than those of grey hydrogen, which uses
fossil fuels. To address both issues, advancements
in alkaline water electrolysis
are improving efficiency and scalability.
The development of modular, scalable
systems shows the potential for largescale
feasibility of water electrolysis.
Infrastructure limitations pose another
significant challenge. Many regions
lack the necessary renewable energy
infrastructure to power large-scale hydrogen
production. However, the integration
of hydrogen production with
renewable energy sources is advancing.
The FH2R project demonstrates how
large-scale electrolysis can be powered
by solar energy, providing a model for
future developments.
The chicken-and-egg problem of supply
and demand also presents a challenge.
www.powermag.com
4. A multi-module hydrogen pilot plant in
Kawasaki, Japan, launched in May 2024, is
advancing green hydrogen production with
four 0.8-MW electrolysis modules. The facility
builds on successful testing at Fukushima Hydrogen
Energy Research Field (FH2R) and represents
a step toward 100 MW-class systems
for commercial-scale operations. Courtesy:
Asahi Kasei
According to the Hydrogen Council, if all
announced large-scale hydrogen projects
are actualized, total investment by 2030
would be $320 billion (including electrolyzer
capacity of about 420 GW). However,
a final investment decision has come
for less than 10% of them.
The trajectory of growth and technological
advancements paints a picture of
a rapidly expanding sector poised to play
a critical role in global decarbonization
efforts. BloombergNEF forecasts that
yearly global electrolyzer installations
will rise sharply to an impressive 95 GW
by 2030. This exponential growth reflects
the increasing confidence in hydrogen's
potential to meet climate goals and the
expanding capacity of the industry to deliver
at scale.
The current development of 100 MWclass
systems, as demonstrated by projects
like the Kawasaki pilot plant, is likely
just the beginning. Industry experts anticipate
gigawatt-scale plants becoming feasible
within the next decade, which would
dramatically increase production capacity
and potentially drive down costs through
economies of scale.
International collaboration must play
a crucial role in the industry's future. As
countries recognize the global nature of
the hydrogen economy, cross-border initiatives
are likely to increase. These collaborations
could lead to the establishment
of international hydrogen supply chains,
with renewable-rich countries producing
green hydrogen for export to regions with
higher energy demands.
As these developments unfold, the
green hydrogen sector is poised to move
from pilot projects and demonstrations to
large-scale commercial operations. While
challenges remain, the future outlook for
11
http://www.powermag.com
pwr_january-2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of pwr_january-2025
