Green hydrogen could compete with gray in a decade, Engie says
Green hydrogen, a clean energy source made from water and renewable power, could become competitive in a decade, according to French utility Engie.
That relies on Europe setting up the necessary regulatory framework to drive up demand and slash costs, Sebastien Arbola, the company’s head of thermal generation and energy supply, said Tuesday in Paris. The “tipping point” for renewable hydrogen to compete with gray hydrogen -- which is made from methane and emits carbon -- could be in 2030-2035, he said.
A number of countries in Europe are preparing vast subsidies to help companies scale up output of clean hydrogen, seen as key to cutting emissions from transport and industries such as refining and steelmaking. The recent surge in power and gas prices has prompted calls for more diversified energy sources, but green hydrogen production remains expensive, and the global market tiny.
In France, hydrogen made with renewable power costs 6 to 10 euros ($6.82 to $11.37) a kilogram, compared with about 1.50 euros for gray hydrogen, Arbola said. “As we think the price of carbon dioxide and of methane will climb, curves will cross.”
To boost demand for green hydrogen, European nations should subsidize its consumption with so-called contracts for difference, according to the executive. The European Commission could also loosen some rules on state aid that constrain the production of electrolyzers -- used to make the fuel -- he said.
Engie is working on about 70 hydrogen projects worldwide, with some pilot sites already under construction in countries such as France, South Africa and Australia. The utility aims to have about 4 gigawatts of electrolyzers globally by 2030, and more than 100 hydrogen service stations -- mostly in France. It’s also seeking to develop pipeline and storage infrastructure for the fuel.
Comments
Research Reports
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...
VISIT SHOWROOM
FlameBlock is a proudly South African company that engineers, manufactures and supplies fire intumescent and retardant products to the fire...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
