Hydrogen Technologies
To reduce dependency on nuclear and fossil fuels and curb greenhouse gas emissions, we will need to completely overhaul our energy system in the next few decades and move away from conventional energy sources.
Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies may be among the most important alternative energy and propulsion sources in the next decade. They are considered key for the energy transition. Power-to-gas technologies enable the production of green hydrogen through the electrolytic splitting of water with renewable energies.
Hydrogen’s greatest potential contribution towards becoming climate-neutral is its application in areas particularly difficult to decarbonise or without viable technological alternatives. This includes heavy-duty transport, industrial energy generation, raw material production, and parts of the heating sector.
There are different types of hydrogen:
- Green hydrogen: exclusively produced from renewables by electrolysis
- Grey hydrogen: produced from fossil fuels
- Blue hydrogen: from fossil primary energy sources with carbon captured and stored or kept in a closed loop
- Turquoise hydrogen: produced by methane pyrolysis (thermal splitting of methane), resulting in solid carbon instead of CO2
Global demand for today’s mostly conventionally produced hydrogen has more than tripled since 1975 and continues to grow. By expanding the amount of renewably produced hydrogen as an energy source across all energy consumption sectors, European companies will likely generate revenues of up to 65 billion euros by 2030. This market growth is expected to significantly lower the cost of producing hydrogen, making the technology increasingly competitive.
CO2-free hydrogen can specifically be used for energy production with fuel cells and can serve as a raw material in all major energy consumption sectors as a form of greenhouse gas-free energy supply. The main sectors include:
- Mobility: In the mobility sector, hydrogen is particularly suitable as fuel for transport and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as for public transport (e.g. busses, trains, lorries, utility vehicles, and special purpose vehicles).
- Industrial use: Hydrogen is an important industrial product that has been used for years in various industrial processes (e.g. ammonia and methanol synthesis, oil refining, and metallurgical processes). Switching to electrolysis for hydrogen production will reduce natural gas use in industry and lower industrial CO2 emissions, provided there is a reliable and continuous supply along with viable storage solutions.
- Heat and power generation: Hydrogen as an energy carrier for heat production is particularly advantageous for countries with existing natural gas infrastructure as it can be partially integrated into the natural gas network.
- Grid stabilisation and sector coupling: Hydrogen can serve as an energy carrier for renewable energies across all sectors and significantly contribute to the energy transition with sector coupling as a central element.
>>Learn more about hydrogen in Austria
HyPA - Hydrogen Partnership Austria – the partnership for hydrogen in Austria, powered by BMK, BMAW and the State Government of Tyrol