Fraunhofer IEE, a German research institute for energy and energy system technologies, published a study, on Thursday 27 January, on the use, limitations and cost of hydrogen blending in the European gas grid at the transport and distribution level.
According to the study, a 5% blending target by 2030 would require about 50 TWh of renewable hydrogen. However, based on the EU target of 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers by 2030, the authors expect a generation of about 132 TWh.
They also estimate that a blending substituting 20% fossil gas with renewable hydrogen by volume would require a high technical effort, but would only result in about 6-7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to the lower heating value of hydrogen compared to fossil gas.
Thus, instead of using a large part (more than a third) of the 132 TWh target for blending, the Fraunhofer IEE recommends reserving renewable hydrogen for concrete applications with high CO2 reduction potential.
It mentions in particular the replacement of grey hydrogen, its use in certain industrial sectors such as steel, shipping and aviation fuels and in the long-term power generation.
See the study: https://bit.ly/3gmlsNv (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)