A major Norwegian energy company has reached an agreement to supply Europe’s largest economy with “blue” hydrogen.
Germans Seek New Energy Alternative to Russian Gas
The war in Ukraine has forced Germany to end its long standing dependence on Russia gas, while its economy suffers from high energy prices.Germany, Norway Tighten Their Energy Alliance
German Economics Minister Robert Habeck, who visited Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre last year to discuss the joint project, spoke in Oslo at a Jan. 6 joint press conference.Habeck said that Germany sorely needed plants that could produce hydrogen power and that it needed decarbonized hydrogen from Norway to fulfil that plan.
“In the midst of the energy crisis, we see how important Norway is as a reliable supplier of gas to Europe, but we also see how crucial it is that we switch more quickly to more renewable energy.” Stoere told reporters.
The joint proposal to build the hydrogen pipeline was backed by Gassco, the Norwegian pipeline operator, which is currently conducting a study to assess its feasibility and is expected to release the results in the spring.
Proponents of View Hydrogen Power as Future
Berlin wants to gradually expand “green” hydrogen production as part of its long-term energy goals, as the clean source of energy could reduce carbon emissions by 65 percent to 1990 levels by 2030, Bloomberg reported.The Green movement has been promoting hydrogen-based energy for years, since it mostly emits water vapor when burned.
The large scale production of “green” hydrogen, which is created by separating hydrogen from water molecules via solar and wind power, is years away from viability.
“Blue” hydrogen, which is the cheaper and most direct alternative, is produced by burning natural gas and can, in theory, capture and store more than 95 percent of carbon emissions.
“There is an urgent need for a rapid ramp up of the hydrogen economy,” said RWE Chief Executive Markus Krebber in a press statement.“Blue hydrogen in large quantities can make a start, with subsequent conversion into green hydrogen supply,” he added.
In order to complete the project, underground storage for the carbon emissions created in the making of hydrogen fuel, which is currently prohibited in Germany, still need to be constructed.
‘A Further Step Backwards’
However, many environmental groups oppose the development of “blue” hydrogen facilities, due to their reliance on natural gas.“If we want to put the energy crisis behind us for good, then we need a progressive green energy supply,” protested Sascha Müller-Kraenner, CEO of Environmental Action Germany (DUH).
“Importing blue hydrogen would, however, be a further step backwards to a fossil-fueled past,” she added.
Her organization protested the arrival of the first standard shipment of U.S. liquified natural gas to Germany at the port of Wilhelmshaven this week.
The leadership of the Green party, which includes Habeck, is facing heavy criticism from some of its own supporters for promoting shipments of gas from America as an alternative to Russian gas supplies.
The Greens are one of the three parties in the ruling coalition governing Germany.
German climate activists feel a sense of betrayal by the pro-environmentalist party, for permitting the use of coal as a temporary energy measure to keep citizens from freezing this winter.
Some have gone as far as to occupy the abandoned village of Lützerath in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is being removed in order to expand a nearby open pit coal mine, leading to clashes with police.
