CEO of energy huge RWE

The CEO of German energy business RWE has actually required using hydrogen in sectors where electrification is simply not an alternative, informing CNBC that “in the end, all hydrogen needs to be green.”

In an interview previously today it was put to Markus Krebber that Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess had actually argued hydrogen was not the response for the German vehicle giant.

“I actually agree with Herbert Diess because … he says that hydrogen is not the solution for passenger transportation and I think here, electrification — direct electrification — is the solution,” Krebber responded.

“But we need hydrogen for those parts of the economy which cannot be electrified,” he stated. “So let’s think about aviation, maritime transportation, heavy duty trucks, but also … steel and chemicals.”

Diess has actually formerly revealed strong views on using hydrogen in cars and trucks. “It’s time for politicians to accept science,” he tweeted back in February.

“Green hydrogen is needed for steel, chemical, aero … and should not end up in cars,” he stated.

“Far too expensive, inefficient, slow and difficult to rollout and transport. After all: no #hydrogen cars in sight.”

Hydrogen, which has a varied series of applications and can be released in a large range of markets, can be produced in a variety of methods.

One approach consists of utilizing electrolysis, with an electrical present splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.

If the electrical power utilized in this procedure originates from a sustainable source such as wind or solar then some refer to it as green or sustainable hydrogen.

Today, a range of colors– consisting of brown, blue, gray and pink, among others– are utilized to separate in between numerous production approaches for hydrogen. For his part, Krebber described it was necessary to be practical about color codes.

“In the end, all hydrogen needs to be green, because green hydrogen is the only fuel which is … fully decarbonized,” he stated. In the meantime, markets required to take choices to buy brand-new centers and make them “H2 ready.”

“Of course, there is insufficient green hydrogen readily available in the short-term, so you require to enable them to run it initially on gas then, possibly, on all other colors [of] hydrogen … particularly blue,” he stated. “But the moment green hydrogen is available, to the extent needed, they should switch to green hydrogen.”

Blue hydrogen describes hydrogen produced utilizing gas– a nonrenewable fuel source– with the CO2 emissions produced throughout the procedure recorded and kept.

While there is enjoyment in some quarters about the capacity of green hydrogen, the large bulk of hydrogen generation is presently based upon nonrenewable fuel sources.

In current times, some magnate have actually mentioned the concerns they felt were dealing with the emerging green hydrogen sector. In October, for instance, the CEO of Siemens Energy informed CNBC there was “no commercial case” for it at this minute in time.

Looking at the larger photo and the advancement of a hydrogen economy, RWE’s Krebber looked for to sketch out how current facilities might be utilized in the years ahead.

“We have, already today, a very dense network of pipelines across Europe,” he stated. “And actually what we are intending to do as an industry is, we want to repurpose the current fossil infrastructure into the new green infrastructure.”

Krebber’s view echoes a point made by Marco Alver à, the CEO of Italian company Snam, previously this year. In July, Alver à laid out a vision for the future of hydrogen, stating the “beauty” of it was that it might be quickly kept and carried.

Speaking to CNBC, he discussed how present systems would be utilized to help with the shipment of hydrogen produced utilizing sustainable sources in addition to biofuels.

“Right now, if you turn on your heater in Italy the gas is flowing from Russia, all the way from Siberia, in pipelines,” he stated.

“Tomorrow, we will have hydrogen produced in North Africa, in the North Sea, with solar and wind resources,” Alver à stated. “And that hydrogen can travel through the existing pipeline.”