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An electrolyser made by UK-based ITM Power. Image: ITM Power

long-awaited strategy for hydrogen in July, in at the Rheinland oil refinery in Wesseling. The
which it supports the fuel as a means of decar- plant would be the largest of its kind in the world.
bonising economic areas which renewables The Netherlands and Italy are developing
alone cannot reach. similar initiatives. The Netherlands is primar-
The strategy’s priority is the large-scale ily focused on green hydrogen, which it views
deployment of carbon-free green hydrogen, pro- as a means of storing excess supply from its 4.5
duced from water using renewable power. But it GW of wind power capacity. But it also sees blue
also accepts that in the short to medium term, hydrogen as important for establishing a market
some gas-based hydrogen will be needed as long for the fuel in the shorter term. One venture is
as it is decarbonised using CCS. This so-called H-Vision, a plan backed by BP, ExxonMobil and
blue hydrogen will help establish a sufficient Shell, to capture hydrogen from offshore gas and
market for the fuel, ready for when green hydro- store the carbon produced from the process in
gen becomes cheap enough to compete. depleted North Sea reservoirs.
Green hydrogen is produced at electrolysers. Italy’s pioneering work has been in the trans-
The EC aims to have at least 6 GW of hydrogen port of hydrogen. Its national gas transmission
electrolyser capacity up and running by 2024, system operator Snam estimates that up to 7bn
capable of producing 1mn tonnes per year (tpy) cubic metres per year of hydrogen could be fed
of the fuel. It wants to install a further 40 GW by into its grid – equal to the amount of gas needed
2030. The market is to be developed using both to cover the demand of 3mn families. This would
demand- and supply-side subsidies and other mean a 90:10 ratio between methane and hydro-
kinds of support. gen. The company announced in July that it had
There has been a mixed response to the finished testing the world’s first hybrid hydro-
EC’s strategy from the gas industry. Some have gen-blend turbine for gas networks, designed by
praised the EU executive for allowing some Baker Hughes.
room for blue hydrogen. However, others have
said a more level playing field between blue and If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
green hydrogen is needed to ensure that the best Europe’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
technologies are chosen. NewsBase’s EurOil Monitor.
Several national governments in Europe
have also announced hydrogen strategies. Some Russia’s cautious approach
like Germany and Portugal have adopted a zero Russia is far less invested in decarbonisation
policy on blue hydrogen, denying any of the than its European peers. However, as the con-
required incentives needed to develop it. Others tinent’s biggest energy supplier, it has watched
like Norway are in favour of any kind of hydro- developments in Europe with keen interest.
gen as long as it is low-carbon. On the one hand, large-scale hydrogen pro-
Generally, hydrogen is seen as most feasible duction and demand in Europe poses a threat
in countries with extensive gas grids that can to Russia, as the fuel will replace gas volumes.
be repurposed for its transport, such as Ger- On the other hand, Russia may be able to use its
many, Italy and the Netherlands. Germany is ample gas reserves and export pipelines to posi-
striving to build 5 GW of hydrogen electro- tion itself as a major supplier of blue hydrogen
lyser capacity by 2030 and double this amount to Europe.
by 2040. It not only wants to create a market Russia’s energy ministry is currently pre-
for the fuel but also become a leading supplier paring a five-year hydrogen strategy that
of hydrogen technologies. could see incentives for hydrogen produc-
Early-stage production projects include a tion projects introduced as early as next year.
10-MW electrolyser that Royal Dutch Shell and State companies Gazprom and Rosatom are
the UK’s ITM Power began building last year expected to take the lead in Russia’s hydrogen

Week 39 01•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15