TSEP#188 Global Race for Green Hydrogen – Just Hype or the Key to a Sustainable Energy Future?

A net-zero world would require 306 million tonnes of green
hydrogen to be produced annually by 2050, according to the
International Energy Agency (IEA). That would require something
in the region of 3,000GW of electrolysers and 6,000GW of
renewable energy, based on current technology. Considering the
world had only installed 3,371GW of renewables by the end of last
year (according to the International Renewable Energy Agency
[Irena]) — and that the planet will need about 30,000GW of
renewable energy to decarbonise the global electricity supply,
that’s a fairly tall order. Based on the notion that economies of
scale would reduce the cost of green hydrogen production, several
developers have announced massive and extremely ambitious
projects that aim to meet much of the world's future demand for
clean H2.


But what is the current situation? Is the strong expansion of
green hydrogen projects succeeding worldwide? Do we even need
them for a sustainable, future-proof energy industry? We talk
about this with Dr. Thomas Hillig, Founder of THEnergy.


Timeline




02:13 Hydrogen seems to be all about Gigawatt projects – if
we read the latest news. Is this true or fiction?




04:00 Less than one percent of the hydrogen produced
worldwide still comes from renewable sources and can
therefore claim to be "green". Can green hydrogen even be
economically viable in the long term?




06:09 Why are so few projects being realized? A few years
ago, we read in the media about numerous major projects in
the hydrogen sector; it seemed to be the next big thing?




10:13 Is hydrogen comparable to solar 15 years ago (when it
was still more of a niche product)?




15:18 Which are the most promising applications for green
hydrogen?




19:13 Where will green hydrogen be produced? And what about
electrolyzers?




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podcast@thesmartere.com