The long road to green hydrogen

DW (English)

Climate-friendly green hydrogen can be produced using renewable energies. One producer, Denmark, is now expanding its infrastructure to bring it to the rest of Europe. We show you a bus project in Frankfurt, Germany, where it’s already in use.

Transcript

00:00They may look like regular buses, but these run on hydrogen.

00:04In Frankfurt am Main, Hadi J. Barak drives one of 23 buses powered by this alternative

00:10fuel.

00:11On a single tank, just like with diesel, she can cover 400 kilometers – enough to last

00:16an entire day.

00:17First, it's definitely environmentally friendly.

00:22Second, it's very quiet compared to diesel.

00:25Plus, it drives really well and is very comfortable.

00:28I just think it's great.

00:33Have any passengers ever commented?

00:35Yes, a few.

00:36They didn't even realize the bus was running.

00:38The engine is so quiet.

00:40Some even asked me, are you going to start the bus?

00:42And I told them, it's already running.

00:49At the Inde City bus depot, the Danish company Eberfuel has installed a hydrogen filling

00:54station.

00:55Currently, the hydrogen used is grey, coming from industrial waste from a nearby factory.

01:01However, in the future, the plan is to switch to green hydrogen.

01:07Hydrogen is an interesting option for us, at least as a transitional technology.

01:12It offers longer ranges than battery-powered vehicles can currently provide.

01:17We'll see how that develops.

01:19Plus, it doesn't require the extensive charging infrastructure that batteries need.

01:28The high-synergy facility is located in Fredericia, Denmark, near a large refinery.

01:34This is where the green hydrogen for Frankfurt will come from.

01:38Final preparations are underway.

01:40Starting in 2025, the facility will produce enough hydrogen to generate 300 megawatts

01:46of energy, with plans to scale up further.

01:49They estimate the energy required for 1 kilogram of hydrogen to be between 45 and 65 kilowatt

01:55hours, with most of it coming from renewable sources.

01:59We are responding to the European request to really make a green transition rapidly.

02:06One of the key ingredients in the Repower EU European strategy are to use renewable-produced

02:12hydrogen for transport and for industry.

02:17Some industrial plants, like the nearby refinery, can be supplied directly by Everfuel.

02:23For other customers, like the bus station in Frankfurt, hydrogen still needs to be delivered

02:28by truck.

02:29However, under the Repower EU strategy, this will change.

02:33In the coming years, the EU and 33 energy infrastructure operators plan to repurpose

02:39sections of existing natural gas pipelines and build new connections overland and underwater.

02:46This will primarily supply central and southern Europe with renewable energy from northern

02:51Europe.

02:52Denmark and Norway have a lot of hydropower, among other resources.

03:00These can be directly harnessed to support the hydrogen infrastructure.

03:07They're energy-producing countries.

03:09Germany doesn't have that.

03:11So our approach is different.

03:17In Fredericia, some final permits are still pending and a few more hurdles remain.

03:25Our ambition and strategy are in place on the business level.

03:28But the challenges are, production of green hydrogen is more expensive than production

03:32of grey hydrogen.

03:33So the subsidy schemes and the certificate schemes that need to be in place to make it

03:39attractive for my customers to buy green hydrogen.

03:44In Frankfurt, they're also eagerly awaiting the start of green hydrogen production in

03:49Denmark.

03:52Hydrogen would be the icing on the cake for vehicles already running on alternative fuels.

03:56For electric vehicles, the electricity also has to be green.

03:59And the same should apply to hydrogen.

04:02That's when it really contributes to the energy transition.

04:07Only in Frankfurt, but across Europe, cities are waiting in anticipation.

04:12They hope large-scale green hydrogen production will begin soon, helping cities like Frankfurt

04:17to go truly green.

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