The first hydrogen car was developed as early as 1966. But it is not the passenger cars that are next in line for the hydrogen revolution that many hope will contribute to net zero emissions in 2045.
– Hydrogen is especially useful as an input in an industrial process or when it is difficult to make a direct electrification, says Filip Johnsson, professor of energy systems at Chalmers and one of the authors of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences’ (IVA) new report “The role of hydrogen in the electrical system”.
Hydrogen can be produced by splitting water with electricity in a so-called electrolyzer. During the production itself, however, you lose 30-40 percent of the energy. Additional energy is lost if you then choose to convert the hydrogen gas back into electricity.
This is the reason why a fuel cell car with hydrogen consumes about 2.5 times more electricity per kilometer compared to an electric car that has batteries.
“Hydrogen is best suited for heavy road transport, where batteries will at least currently be heavy and expensive,” says Filip Johnsson.
Two other major emission sectors that can benefit from hydrogen are shipping and aviation. Hydrogen, carbon dioxide and electricity can be used to produce electric fuel, which can then be refueled in aircraft. A number of Swedish companies are currently planning a pilot project to produce electric fuel in a plant next to the Forsmark nuclear power plant.
– Even though there is a lot of research on electric flights, it is quite a long way to go until you can fly to Paris with electric flights, and even further away until we can take the electric flight to the USA or Thailand, if it ever becomes possible. Liquid aviation fuel is of course an opportunity there, says Filip Johnsson.
The great advantage of hydrogen is that it can be stored. This means that it has a balancing function in an electrical system with large elements of renewable energy. Since wind power varies depending on the weather, it is possible to produce a lot of hydrogen during windy days.
This week was inaugurated Hybrits pilot plant for storage of fossil-free hydrogen in Svartöberget in Luleå, the first warehouse in the world of its kind.
– The possibility of hydrogen from a system perspective is that it contributes to flexibility in electricity use and that you can make better use of wind power. You increase the value of the unplanned electricity production, says Filip Johnsson.
Planability is otherwise an advantage that is usually attributed to hydropower and nuclear power. But hydropower can in practice not be expanded further and nuclear power is not expected to be expanded before 2030. In the next decade, IVA believes that the increased electricity demand will mainly be met by wind power.
– Until 2030, it is very unlikely that new nuclear power will make a significant contribution to the energy transition, says Filip Johnsson.
The energy authority wants to see a greatly expanded capacity for hydrogen production over the next two decades to reduce Sweden’s greenhouse gas emissions. In November, the authority produced one proposal for a national strategy for fossil-free hydrogen.
– In the next few years, hydrogen will be most important in the iron and steel industry, the energy sector and heavy transport. But in the longer term, it can probably also play a role in aviation and shipping, says Mattias Eriksson, project manager at the Swedish Energy Agency.
Can a large-scale investment in hydrogen be an alternative to building more nuclear power?
– With the help of hydrogen or battery storage, renewable energy production can be planned. Then you level the playing field between nuclear power and renewables. Then it’s a matter of cost and time horizons, and it’s up to the market to make those choices. One does not have to exclude the other, says Mattias Eriksson.
Hydrogen can also be produced from natural gas or biomass. Fossil-based hydrogen where the carbon content is separated and stored is called “blue hydrogen”. In order for the hydrogen gas to be counted as green, it must be produced with fossil-free electricity, for example from solar or wind power. As the production is energy-intensive, the hydrogen society is dependent on a greatly expanded electricity production.
This is one of the major challenges, according to IVA, which points to the difficulty of gaining local acceptance for the expansion of wind power.
According to the Swedish Energy Agency can electricity demand in Sweden will double the next 20 years, from the current 140 TWh to 280 TWh per year 2045. Only the plans for fossil-free iron and steel production can mean an increased electricity demand of 75-80 TWh per year by 2045.
Both IVA and the Swedish Energy Agency believe that it will be difficult to obtain sufficient fossil-free hydrogen in the first phase, and that fossil-based hydrogen with carbon dioxide capture (CCS) may therefore be needed for some time.
– I believe that CCS will be needed during a transition period. This is also how the EU reasons in its hydrogen strategy, says Mattias Eriksson at the Swedish Energy Agency.
If the hydrogen revolution leads to real emission reductions remain to be seen. Renewable energy has today become cheaper than fossil energy and is expanding at a rapid pace all over the world.
At the same time, the solar and wind revolution has not led to renewable energy replacing fossil energy globally. Sun and wind are added at a rapid pace, but are added to an undiminished fossil energy consumption. The result will not be a reduction in emissions, but an increase in energy use.
Is there a risk that the hydrogen revolution will contribute to increased energy consumption instead of emission reductions?
– Continued political instruments are needed that create incentives and pressure for change, such as emissions trading and carbon dioxide tax. And an abundant supply of fossil-free electricity is required, says Mattias Eriksson.
Filip Johnson also points to the importance of political instruments:
– When it comes to Swedish industry, you can probably really count on the hydrogen gas replacing the fossil. We do not know what will happen globally. Here, the most important thing is that there are instruments in place that make it cost enough to emit carbon dioxide, he says.
Read more:
New report critical of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel
Electric fuel a “savior in need” for aviation
Green hydrogen will save the climate