2023-10-17 12:11:45
In the energy transition, the Environment Ministry is also relying on green hydrogen, which is generated with electricity from renewable sources. Some of it will also be manufactured in Austria, which will not be possible without subsidies – but the industry would like planning security for this. The existing gas network can be converted to distribute the hydrogen, says AGGM boss Bernhard Painz, who is responsible for the coordination and control of the domestic gas network.
“All energy analysts agree: the next few years will remain characterized by shortages,” said the head of the strategic energy policy department at the Ministry of Energy, Judith Neyer, on Tuesday at a group “morning meeting”. “They stem primarily from the crisis-ridden geopolitical environment. But this applies to hydrogen in any case – regardless of what happens in Ukraine or what happens in the Middle East.”
The aim is therefore to focus the use of hydrogen on those applications that cannot be electrified or are difficult to electrify. The production of green hydrogen in Austria is already being supported. A planned regulation to promote investment in electrolysis plants will soon be examined. A green gas quota is also being negotiated, which will not only affect the production but also the demand for renewable hydrogen.
Because the production of hydrogen in Austria needs to become competitive, the ministry has introduced a hydrogen funding law that provides for operating cost support for renewable hydrogen production in Austria through a fixed premium for the green hydrogen produced. This law is still in development at the EU level, but there are already some points of reference: “In principle, the whole thing is an auction model,” explained Neyer. “The EU offers auctions in which member states can participate with their own national funds and thus promote more national projects.” The only criterion for acceptance at the auction is the price. In the pilot process currently underway, the funding amounts to a uniform amount of 4.5 euros per kilogram of hydrogen. Producers who want to take part in the auction must also have longer-term purchase contracts.
The EU’s goal of producing 10 million tons of green hydrogen in the EU and importing 10 million tons into the EU is “very ambitious,” said Franz Helm, who is responsible for the production and transport of green hydrogen at the association is. In Austria, the aim is to reach 1 gigawatt of installed capacity by 2030; currently only around 14 megawatts have been installed.
Manuel Beschliesser, COO of LAT Nitrogen, would like to see commitments from the Ministry of Energy for possible subsidies in the future, “without subsidies this transformation will not succeed.” His company is the largest hydrogen producer in Austria, but this hydrogen is not fed into the network, but is used to produce ammonia and subsequently for fertilizer. There is a joint project with the association, a 60 MW electrolysis plant. “The goal is to cover 10 percent of our hydrogen needs with green hydrogen from electrolysis.”
According to AGGM board member Painz, the existing natural gas network can be used to transport hydrogen. “We have a very well-developed gas infrastructure in Austria: 44,000 kilometers of distribution lines and over 2,000 kilometers of long-distance lines, which are basically the motorways. A large part of the gas network that we now have can also be converted or converted to transport 100 percent hydrogen. be repurposed.” According to a needs survey, 1,400 kilometers of gas pipelines would have to be reallocated and 300 kilometers of hydrogen pipelines would have to be rebuilt. In this way, methane transport might be maintained and hydrogen might also be transported.
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