Green hydrogen has in recent years climbed high on the list of new methods in green energy. Primarily, it is about phasing out natural gas, including in the steel industry, and as a fuel for vehicles. But its area of use is also in the storage of energy from solar and wind power.
Ankica Kovac, head of Power Engineering Laboratory at the University of Zagreb in Croatia, says in a personal portrait by the sustainability magazine PV-Tech that solar and wind energy will remain as the energy source of the future, but that the production of hydrogen is the 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 especially green hydrogen storage. The energy transition to renewable energy was urgently needed on a large scale due to 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 predicts 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 when it comes to investments, as the country's government has formed a commission to develop a national strategy for green hydrogen.
– Green hydrogen has the potential to be a really good alternative, especially since it can be stored in large quantities for a long period of time, and thus can bridge seasonal variations in demand. It also allows long-distance transport and energy integration without overloading the electricity grid. But in order to reduce the cost of green hydrogen and for optimization purposes, research, development and innovation are needed throughout the value chain. During 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 tons of green hydrogen. Given the extreme decline in electrolyser prices, it is estimated that green hydrogen in 2030 will be competitive and that is why hydrogen is the flagship for the energy transition.
