H2Tech - Q1 2021 - 12

  REGIONAL REPORT: EUROPE

Expanding low-carbon H2 use
in European industry
A. BLUME, Editor-in-Chief

As part of the EU's Strategy for Energy System Integration under the European Green Deal, low-carbon H2 is being
promoted as a solution for those sectors
where electrification is difficult. More
specifically, the EU's Hydrogen Strategy,
which was unveiled in July 2020, calls for
large-scale deployment of clean H2 at a
fast pace as a key part of the EU's strategy
to cost-effectively reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions by 50%-55% by 2030.
This will involve the installation of at least

6 GW of renewable H2 electrolyzer capacity in the EU by 2024 and 40 GW by 2030.
To this end, the EU's Hydrogen Strategy estimates that cumulative investments
in European green H2a could amount
to €180 B-€470 B ($215 B-$562 B) by
2050, and to €3 B-€18 B ($3.5B-$21.5B)
for low-carbon H2 and blue H2.b According to the EU report,1 analysts estimate
that clean H2 could meet 24% of global
energy demand by 2050, with annual
sales as high as €630 B ($754 B).

Notwithstanding these predictions,
the use of H2 on a wide scale faces several
hurdles, chiefly:
*	 A large-scale infrastructure
buildout, requiring a critical mass in
investment and cooperation among
corporate and country partners
*	 The development of an enabling
regulatory framework for H2
markets and source certification
*	 Technology breakthroughs
to offer new solutions for

OPENING PHOTO: Under a €275-MM, 4-yr project, Total revamped its former oil refinery in southeastern France to produce 500,000 metric tpy
of biodiesel and biojet. The Masshylia project will produce green H2 for use at the biorefinery. Photo copyright Total and François Lacour.

12 Q1 2021 | H2-Tech.com
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H2Tech - Q1 2021

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