WHAT ROLE CAN SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED HYDROGEN PLAY IN THE ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE? HOW CAN IT CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE PROTECTION AND SECURITY OF SUPPLY IN GERMANY?
At the entrepreneurs’ meeting in cooperation with the Berliner Morgenpost, Dr Jörg Buisset, Managing Director of Sustainable Hydrogen, was a guest – and took an in-depth look at the current status and prospects of a German hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen is a chemical element that has been used for a long time, for example to produce ammonia or to desulphurise crude oil. On an industrial scale, hydrogen is usually produced from natural gas. Dr. Buisset wants to go one step further and use sustainable hydrogen to compensate for fluctuations in the energy supply from renewable energies. There is not always enough wind or strong enough sunshine to cover the energy demand with solar cells, he says. “Hydrogen is ideal as a carrier to store solar or wind energy,” says the doctor of physics. By splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, the carrier can also be produced sustainably and without emissions. Unlike the electricity grid, hydrogen can also be stored in the gas grid or in salt caverns that exist throughout Europe – and thus becomes a gigantic energy store.
Hydrogen could also make a significant contribution to the heat transition: around 50 per cent of CO2 emissions in Berlin are generated in the building sector – primarily through heating. According to the expert, hydrogen offers the prospect of substituting the fossil fuel natural gas – and thus a quick possibility to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But there is still a lot to be done before this can happen. For so far there is no market for sustainable hydrogen in Germany. So far, the approval procedures are too complex, there are no regulations, framework conditions and legislation. The German government has recognised this and earmarked 7 billion euros in the coalition agreement to build up the hydrogen market. The EU also supports hydrogen projects and pipeline construction. With his company he wants to participate in market development, especially in Berlin. Like an operating company, Sustainable Hydrogen GmbH takes care of the production and distribution of hydrogen, among other things. At the moment, you can only work as an entrepreneur in the hydrogen sector if you are really convinced of the matter and the idea of changing something; simply developing a business model is not enough. But he looks positively into the future: “What we have already achieved in such a short time, that the senate administration is using our concept to become a hydrogen region, makes me happy. We have already made a difference in the city! https://www.vbki.de/wegbereiter-wasserstoff