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Hydrogen demand in European power sector to keep positive trend by 2050

Oil&Gas Materials 17 June 2021 12:48 (UTC +04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Hydrogen demand in the European power sector is estimated to be 12 TWh in 2030, 301 TWh in 2040, and 626 TWh in 2050, accounting for 1 percent, 3 percent, and 7 percent of total EU and UK electricity demand in 2030, 2040, and 2050 respectively, Trend reports with reference to the European Hydrogen Backbone report.

“The value of hydrogen over most other flexible power options is that it can be supplied and stored in large quantities at relatively cheaper investment costs, making it particularly appealing for long-duration storage. Hydrogen can costeffectively integrate and provide resilience to the highly electrified net-zero energy system (and economy) of the future,” reads the report.

Hydrogen generated electricity is forecast to comprise up to 17 percent of the electricity generation per country, with Poland, Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Belgium expected to have the highest shares of hydrogen generated electricity in 2050.

Countries with high shares of gas-powered electricity generation (e.g. Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the UK) are expected to have high shares of hydrogen demand. Gas-fired power plants can transition from natural gas to hydrogen, making use of existing infrastructure and reducing necessary investment costs for the decarbonisation of dispatchable generators.

In transport, next to electrification and biofuels, there is a clear role for about 300 TWh per year of hydrogen as a fuel. Additional hydrogen will be needed to produce synthetic fuels in aviation. In 2050, hydrogen is forecasted to power 55 percent of trucks, 25 percent of buses, and 10 percent of airplanes. The demand for direct hydrogen in the transport sector in 2050 can be expected to be 285 TWh, with 68 TWh in aviation and 217 TWh in heavy road transport. Direct hydrogen is forecasted to account for 12 percent of total transport energy demand in 2050.

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