The hydrogen story: Research! Promotion! Yield?

Following the oil crisis in the 1970s, alternative energies were feverishly sought everywhere and hydrogen was discovered. In the 1980s the solar hydrogen project was set up in Neunburg vorm Wald/Bavaria with a photovoltaic system, three electrolysers, compressed gas storage and two fuel cells. The Euro-Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project ran from 1989 to 1998 in Canada, Germany, Italy and Belgium. The hydrogen was produced in the east of Canada using hydropower from a large storage reservoir. Buses with different H2 drive technologies ran on the roads in several cities. Emissions tests and studies were carried out. As the money quickly ran out, the project was scaled down in 1991.

The German government and industry had already invested several billion Deutschmarks in research into the hydrogen economy before the world's first public hydrogen filling station opened at Munich Airport in 1999. MAN tested fuel cell buses, and BMW developed its first hydrogen car. After two years however, the filling station was demolished, and the two vehicle manufacturers ultimately abandoned their hydrogen tests (2009). By then BMW had built a hundred of its Hydrogen 7 vehicles, which were able to run on hydrogen and petrol as a hybrid, and the cars were leased by celebrities and politicians.

It is still unclear whether the fuel cell for transport is superior to the use of hydrogen in conventional combustion engines, which are simple to adapt, as in the case of the Hydrogen 7. Only Toyota, Hyundai and Honda sell fuel cell cars. The sales figures are however negligible. Mercedes-Benz has discontinued its GLC fuel cell model because battery technology is superior in the passenger car sector. The company is concentrating on developing fuel cell technology in buses and trucks. VW also sees no future for the fuel cell in passenger cars. Some manufacturers are working full steam on developing hydrogen trucks. So far, there is only one liquid H2 truck with a fuel cell from Hyundai. 50 of them are already on the roads in Switzerland.

Nonetheless, operating conditions for the fuel cell in traffic are far more difficult than stationary operation in a boiler room. From 2008 to 2016, the German government funded the development of power-generating fuel cell heating appliances to the tune of over 50 million euros under the “Callux” programme. The result is lousy. Thanks to generous broad-based funding, there has been an uptick in recent years, but most of the units sold rely on Japanese fuel cells. Three manufacturers offer fuel cells developed in Germany but they are solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) that directly utilise natural or liquid gas in place of hydrogen.

tending to produce its own H2 from wind power. Following the experimental injection of hydrogen as a reducing agent in blast furnaces, Thyssenkrupp plans to connect them to the hydrogen network operated by Air Liquide in the Ruhr area. The first large-scale direct reduction plant is to be built in 2024 and from 2030 onwards, three million tonnes of climate-neutral steel will be produced per year.

The plans for green steel in Sweden are even more audacious: The start-up H2 Green Steel wants to build a brand-new steelwork for climate-neutral steel on a greenfield site in the northern Swedish region of Norrbotten. An electrolysis plant for hydrogen production is incorporated in the 2.5 billion euro project. The region not only has hydro and wind power but also high-quality iron ore and the port of Lulea. Large-scale steel production is scheduled to begin as early as 2024. From 2030 Sweden wants to produce 5 million tonnes of green steel per year.

H2 Green Steel is the first showcase project of the European Green Hydrogen Acceleration Center, which aims to develop a green hydrogen economy with annual sales of 100 billion euros by 2025. While it is under the leadership of EIT InnoEnergy, a

European Union body, financial support comes from the cleantech fund Breakthrough Energy. The investors and the board of Breakthrough Energy include entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos (amazon), Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Jack Ma (Alibaba, the Chinese counterpart to amazon) or Michael Bloomberg, media tycoon and ex-mayor of New York. When the richest men in the world are working together for hydrogen, nothing can really stand in the way of a breakthrough.