It is considered an important building block for the energy transition: Green hydrogen, with which electricity from wind and sun can be stored. In the “Zero Hour” podcast, Kurt Christoph von Knobelsdorff, head of NOW GmbH, explains why the technology has only been progressing slowly so far.
For a long time, the production of green hydrogen was a niche topic that only a few visionaries were concerned with. But since the prices for natural gas have exploded, it has become the focus of the debate. As a storage medium for renewable electricity from wind and sun, hydrogen should help to supply German industry with energy in processes and transport and, in the best case, replace expensive natural gas.
“Everything we did in terms of the energy transition was based on the natural gas bridge,” says Kurt Christoph von Knobelsdorff in the podcast “The Zero Hour”. “This bridge has now crashed away.” Von Knobelsdorff is the head of NOW GmbH, a state-owned company that is intended to promote the coming hydrogen economy.
The NOW boss is convinced that the development will now pick up speed – also because the Russian attack on Ukraine “a new urgency” has arisen. So far, the federal government had provided a sum of nine billion euros for the promotion of hydrogen production. “I’m sure that the goals and ambitions will be raised again,” said von Knobelsdorff. “We will see significant production of green hydrogen in Germany.”
So far, however, the technology has been slow to take off, also because the European Union has not yet finally regulated the basis on which green electricity can be used for hydrogen production. “As long as this question has not been clearly clarified, no one will invest on a large scale, because this question defines the business case for the investors,” says von Knobelsdorff.
Imports will therefore also play an important role, since the legislators in other countries are already more advanced and there are also better conditions. North Africa plays an important role in the federal government’s strategy, but so does Spain. “Basically, any location that is sunny and windy is suitable – and there are many of them,” says von Knobelsdorff.
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