{"id":14813,"date":"2023-08-03T20:27:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T17:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=14813"},"modified":"2023-08-03T20:27:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T17:27:13","slug":"german-economy-independence-from-russian-gasdependence-on-hydrogen-of-emerging-economies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=14813","title":{"rendered":"German Economy: Independence from Russian Gas\u2026Dependence on Hydrogen of Emerging Economies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to the International Monetary Fund, Germany’s economy will shrink by 0.3% this year, before its real GDP grows by 1.3% in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main reasons are the energy cost shock – which Germany experienced more strongly than other countries, as it relied until recently on cheap Russian natural gas – the tight financial conditions and the deteriorating business climate in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It follows a difficult five years of “green” industrial transition, with burdens for citizens, warned the other day from the television frequency of the ARD network, the vice-chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection, Robert Hambeck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An expansion of renewable energy sources and an increase in efficiency will be required, he underlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, although “Europe’s steam engine”, Germany will not be able to produce sufficient amounts of electricity from renewable sources to completely wean itself off coal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore the “next big story” the country needs to become climate neutral by 2045, the Greens executive minister underlined, is hydrogen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coalition government under Olaf Solz is putting a lot of emphasis on what many are now calling “the fuel of the future”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is betting big on it for the transition of industrial production from fossil fuels to clean energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially in sectors where decarbonisation is difficult, such as in the production of steel, chemicals and cement or in air and sea transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For three years now, however, it has become clear that Germany will have to depend heavily on hydrogen imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, a study by the federal Ministry of Education and Research states that approximately 45 million tons of hydrogen will need to be imported annually by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just for their production – by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis – a huge amount of energy is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About four times the amount of electricity that Germany currently consumes annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imports\u2026 \u00fcber alles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Berlin decided to meet its needs with large-scale projects abroad. Details of the plan have just been published by the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, as part of an update of the National Hydrogen Strategy (NHS), first drawn up in 2020, under Chancellor Merkel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to “ensure the availability of hydrogen through imports,” it said, “large-scale hydrogen projects in partner countries” are needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently in the pipeline are “hydrogen alliances” with Morocco and Tunisia, as well as projects from Algeria and South Africa to Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministry under the social democrat Svenia Sulce, says it is ready to throw hundreds of millions of euros into the project, stressing that the focus is on green hydrogen: the cleanest produced today compared to other forms of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in the updated national strategy many environmental taboos and restrictions have been lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage of development, not only green, but also blue, turquoise and orange (or yellow) hydrogen will be eligible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The color\u2026 palette refers to the way they are produced and their carbon footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green hydrogen is produced with electricity from renewable sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural gas is used in blue and turquoise, but carbon dioxide (CO2) pollutants are not released into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of blue, they are stored underground, while in turquoise, they are converted -through the pyrolysis of methane- into solid carbon as a by-product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orange hydrogen is produced with energy derived from waste recycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, there is also pink hydrogen using nuclear power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the largest amounts of hydrogen produced are still those of the so-called gray, with fossil fuels – mainly natural gas – and CO2 pollutants contaminating the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, in terms of combating climate change, it’s pretty much\u2026 zero in the quotient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Black” spots<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2030 hydrogen consumption in Germany could reach 130 terawatt hours: almost a quarter of the total electricity consumption by domestic industry and households in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shipping alone could consume 120 terawatt hours, according to a study by the German Shipping Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finance Minister Hambeck emphasized that only a third of the required amounts of hydrogen can be produced in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remaining two-thirds must be imported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Deputy Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Jochen Flasbart, placed the “threshold” of imports at 50-70%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Bettina Stark-Wadzinger, education and research minister and deputy leader of the co-ruling Liberals, the federal government decided “realistically and with an open mind” to use “all climate-friendly types of hydrogen first”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Berlin’s choices are already causing strong reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German Renewable Energy Federation complains that instead of relying on domestic potential, the federal government’s strategy is “primarily based on imports by ship, including blue hydrogen”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anti-nuclear organization Ausgestrahlt points out that although pink hydrogen is not on the official government agenda, pipeline projects “open the door to its introduction”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development agreements with third partner countries – where Berlin has already allocated 270 million euros in investments and, as Deputy Minister Flaschbart pointed out, is expected to reach 1.3 billion euros when the private sector is involved – raise a number of questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Berlin’s growing dependence even on authoritarian regimes, to climate justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to energy, after all, hydrogen production also requires large amounts of water, at a time when drought and water scarcity plague more and more parts of the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially in Africa, where Berlin has the most “hydrogen alliances”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, Africa’s first large-scale green hydrogen plant is expected to come online in 2026 in Morocco\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Global South, to the developed North<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since hydrogen is a flammable gas, transporting and exporting it is not a simple process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It needs to be converted to a more stable format and then converted again. It must be cooled under very high pressure to minus 253 degrees Celsius, for better storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It becomes liquid and can be transported more easily, saving space. But this compression also requires a lot of energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Germans’ plan, the terminals where liquefied natural gas (LNG) is currently processed could be used in this process, with conversion. Ducts are also a possible solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German National Hydrogen Strategy envisions a “hydrogen network” by 2028, with a total of 4,500 kilometers of existing and new pipelines across Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is for “all major production, import and storage centers to be connected to their respective customers” by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berlin focuses on connections with neighboring countries and potential production areas in Scandinavia, southern and eastern Europe, as well as import hubs in Western Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also in the plans are connections to North Africa either via France, Spain and Portugal (H2Med pipeline) or via Austria and Italy (South Corridor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, German companies are putting forward plans for the production of hydrogen fuel cells, for vehicles and for other applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These, while Germany’s ultimate goal is to become a key market for hydrogen technologies, gaining a strategic advantage over major competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Namely the USA and Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A field of competition, which remains open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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