Hydrogen is the solution, not the problem

Our scientific advisor, Catrinus Jepma, and the other signatories, authoritative scientists and specialists in the field, have formulated the following response to the front-page article in NRC last Wednesday.

Response to article NRC 1/2 December 2020: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2020/12/01/stroomvraag-stijgt-35-procent-door-waterstofplannen-van-noord-nederland-a4022185#/handelsblad/2020/12/02/#101

Hydrogen is the solution, not the problem

In last Wednesday's article under the headline 'Stroomvraag stijgt 35 procent door waterstofplannen van Noord-Nederland' ('Electricity demand increases by 35 percent due to hydrogen plans Noord-Nederland') NRC states in short: "As a country, we have a problem because we have insufficient production capacity for green electricity to also facilitate the large-scale production of green hydrogen planned for 2030. So the solution is to scale back these plans."

We believe that this reverses the problem and the solution.

In reality, the solution to this problem is obvious: accelerate the production of green energy with offshore wind as much as possible; activate the import of hydrogen from “ solar countries”, which are already in the starting blocks; accept – as Natuur & Milieu recently did – blue hydrogen with CC(U)S as an interim solution; and form coalitions with neighbouring countries.

Climate goals

The real problem is climate change caused by CO2 emissions. To solve this problem, the large-scale introduction of hydrogen is one of the key factors. This also explains why, in all scenarios, hydrogen is a crucial component of the energy transition and thus the opportunity to achieve the Paris Agreement.

The fundamental reason is that the vast majority of current final energy use (approximately 80%) is based on molecules (gases/liquids), not electrons (electricity). Because the greening of these molecules is making little progress in the EU, nor in our country, unlike the successful greening of electricity, the energy transition threatens to slow down unless additional green molecules quickly become available on a large scale for the greening of the energy system, with applications in industry – primarily the chemical industry. This significant need for green molecules is included in virtually all energy scenarios, even those that assume far-reaching electrification of the energy system for all sectors. Because carbon-neutral hydrogen is essentially the only option for this large-scale expansion of green molecules, it is logical that this development is accelerated. Without hydrogen, there would be no Paris. Without the large-scale deployment of green molecules via hydrogen, there would be no green energy, no green chemistry, no heavy-duty mobility, and no economies of scale to make this profitable. The authors ignore this notion by effectively advocating slowing down where acceleration is needed, especially now that the EU has recently tightened its 2030 climate targets considerably.

Investments in Europe

This acceleration has recently led to ambitious hydrogen programmes in neighboring countries (e.g., Germany with €9 billion; France with €7 billion). In comparison, the Dutch programme, with only tens of millions in support so far, pales in comparison. The Netherlands is perfectly positioned for this, with its location on the North Sea, home to several major import ports, depleted offshore gas fields for CO2 storage, onshore power from Scandinavia, data centers, an intensive and reusable gas network, and relatively energy-intensive industry and agriculture. It is therefore well-positioned to become a leader in this area within the EU. This can serve as a basis for developing a revenue model, building a manufacturing industry, and creating many jobs. While the hydrogen economy is only just emerging, we are now in danger of being overtaken by others. This is a problem for which the business community offers the solution by saying: "We want to invest heavily and jointly in hydrogen at the best locations across the entire value chain; let's do it together." We urge you to take up the challenge!

Grid congestion

In addition, we have a problem with our electricity grids. Congestion is already occurring onshore with the integration of renewable energy, and around 2030, this will also occur with the integration of North Sea wind, preventing us from getting green power to the end user. Expanding the electricity grid is time-consuming and very expensive, which could increase the price of electricity for consumers. Hydrogen offers the solution, as converting electricity into hydrogen relieves the burden on the electricity grid and enables the reuse of existing gas infrastructure.

Future offshore wind farms, for example, could be completely disconnected from the grid and use the existing gas network for hydrogen transport. There's no cheaper way to transport energy, which would be good for consumers' energy bills.

Irregular energy supply

Then we have the virtually insoluble problem of the irregular supply and subsequent storage needs for the energy of the future, renewable solar and wind energy. This already places significant demands on grid balancing and expensive storage capacity, and is expected to contribute to significant price fluctuations in electricity prices. Hydrogen offers a solution for this as well, as it offers the option of balancing the electricity grid, easily and cheaply storing energy on a large scale, aligning energy supply and demand, and stabilising electricity markets.

In short, the rapid and large-scale development of hydrogen is the solution and offers enormous opportunities, especially for our country, instead of creating a problem.

Authors

Prof. em. Catrinus Jepma, University of Groningen / New Energy Coalition, prof. Coby van der Linde, Dr. René Peters, TNO, Prof. Jan Willem Velthuijsen, PwC, Prof. Ad van Wijk, TUD