The expert: "Hydrogen is the flagship of the green transition"

In recent years, green hydrogen has climbed high on the list of new methods in green energy. It is mainly about phasing out natural gas, for example in the steel industry, and as a fuel for vehicles. But its use is also in the storage of energy from solar and wind power.
Ankica Kovac, Head of Power Engineering Laboratory at Zagreb University in Croatia, says in a personal portrait by sustainability magazine PV-Tech that solar and wind energy will remain as the energy source of the future, but that the production of hydrogen will be key for the future transition.

According to the EU's hydrogen strategy, energy storage is the key to a faster transition to renewable energy sources and, in particular, green storage of hydrogen. The energy transition to renewable energy is urgently needed on a large scale because of the threat of climate change, and it can be accelerated by relying on mass green hydrogen production," she says in the interview.

In the near future, she anticipates that hydrogen will primarily enter the market through the steel industry, the agricultural industry, as a heating method in households and as synthetic aviation fuel. Croatia is one of the EU countries at the forefront of investment, as its government has formed a Commission to develop a national green hydrogen strategy.

"Green hydrogen has the potential to be a really good option, especially since it can be stored in large quantities over a long period of time, and thus can overcome seasonal variations in demand. It also allows long-distance transport and energy integration without overloading the electricity grid. However, in order to reduce the cost of green hydrogen and for optimization purposes, research, development and innovation are needed throughout the value chain. In the first period from 2020 to 2024, the strategic goal is to install at least 6 GW of electrolysers in the EU to produce up to one million tonnes of green hydrogen. Given the extreme decline in electrolysator prices, it is estimated that green hydrogen will be competitive by 2030 and that is why hydrogen is the flagship of the energy transition.