Hydrogen (H2) can be used as a base material, fuel, energy carrier, and energy storage.
The ever-evolving challenges of the climate crisis have sparked interest in green hydrogen and technologies that use it as an alternative measure to tackle climate change. Hydrogen (H2) can be used as a base material, fuel, energy carrier, and energy storage.
In the context of sector coupling , hydrogen facilitates the decarbonization of these industrial processes and facilitates economic sectors that cannot at all reduce CO2 emissions through electrification or which can only be done at a large cost. Extensive development of the hydrogen economy is key to achieving climate protection targets in Germany and Europe.
With the German government's national hydrogen strategy and the EU Commission's hydrogen strategy, a framework was created in 2020 to develop and promote a hydrogen economy in Germany and Europe. Germany's federal government will spend up to 9 billion euros by 2040 to implement its national targets and build international partnerships. The EU Commission predicts that cumulative investment for hydrogen in Europe will reach 480 billion euros by 2050.
Hydrogen can accelerate decarbonization of CO2-intensive sectors
Hydrogen can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions in several ways. For example, green hydrogen could replace fossil fuel-derived hydrogen as a base material in the chemical and steel industries. In certain mobility applications, such as heavy goods transport, public transport, logistics, and river transport, hydrogen-based fuel cells and synthetic fuels can provide a lower carbon footprint in the transport sector for medium distances. For long distances, it is estimated that hydrogen-based synthetic fuels will also be used in shipping and aviation.
In the private sector, fuel cells can be used in conjunction with cogeneration plants (CHPs) to supply electricity and heat to buildings. In addition, hydrogen can be used as an energy storage area to increase the total yield of renewable energy so that the excess energy produced can be stored and fed to the grid as needed.
The hydrogen economy faces various technical challenges
Although from a technological point of view, hydrogen can be used for a variety of applications, the development of a climate-friendly hydrogen economy is controversial from an economic point of view, due to the enormous challenges in hydrogen production, storage and transportation. An essential element of a sustainable hydrogen economy is the cost-effective production of green hydrogen.
In an electrochemical process (electrolysis), electrical energy is used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. If the electricity used comes from renewable energy sources, the result is hydrogen that is CO2 free and is known as green hydrogen. Currently, only 5% of hydrogen worldwide is produced using electrolysis. Most of the hydrogen (more than 70%) is obtained from natural gas.
When compared to electrolysis, the gas-based process (steam generation) uses half the water required and much less energy. As this process is more cost-effective, natural gas will remain the main energy source for hydrogen production for a while.
In addition, the storage and transportation of hydrogen poses certain technical challenges: H2 is usually cooled to minus 253°C or stored under very high pressures. Some other alternatives to facilitate the transportation and storage of hydrogen are conversion to ammonia, bonding with liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC), and the production of renewable fuels such as methanol in the Power-to-X process.
However, the conversion and re-conversion processes lead to wasted energy and some of these processes are still not ready for the market on the industrial scale required.
Infineon provides solutions for the development of a green hydrogen economy
To fully exploit hydrogen's potential, solutions must be found to address the challenges of hydrogen production, storage, transportation and use.
Infineon is a leading supplier of power semiconductors in the fields of renewable energy and electromobility. Infineon's semiconductor solutions can also provide valuable support for the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy along the value chain.
Industry: Power semiconductors enable green hydrogen production
Very high direct current (DC) is required in the electrolysis process to produce green hydrogen. Thus, the alternating current (AC) supplied by the power grid must first be converted to DC, a process known as current rectification or AC-DC conversion.
High-power semiconductors from Infineon are designed to perform this conversion. Multiple high-power synchronized switches enable high combined system performance (>50 megawatts). As a leading producer of power semiconductors for wind power and photovoltaic inverters, Infineon is also driving the generation of electricity from renewable materials.
While the electrolysis process is based on the power generated from the solar panel (which generates DC), the only adjustment required is an adjustment to the DC voltage. The combination of renewable energy and efficient power semiconductors from Infineon provides great benefits for large-scale green hydrogen production.
Clean mobility: The H2 sensor controls, monitors and ensures the safety of the fuel cell system
The future will see more and more use of fuel cell based commercial vehicles, which are essentially emission free, for medium to heavy loads and medium to long distances. As is the case with other fuels, hydrogen should not be released into the environment without being controlled.
To ensure the safety of fuel cell vehicles and increase the acceptance of these vehicles, Infineon is working on the development of highly reliable hydrogen sensors. These sensors help detect leaks, as well as control and monitor the production, storage, and operation of fuel cell systems. This is a major contribution to increasing efficiency through intelligent control along the value chain
Steps needed for a competitive and sustainable hydrogen economy in Europe:
- Promotion of microelectronics and power electronics to enable a future-oriented hydrogen economy in Germany and Europe
- Great acceleration of renewable energy generation so that it can produce green hydrogen while continuing to electrification through the coupling sector
- Application of new hydrogen-based solutions in the field of energy storage and mobility using green hydrogen
- Prioritize the production and use of local hydrogen to avoid long transportation routes and losses due to the conversion process
- Procurement of the required infrastructure and creation of economic incentives for the use of hydrogen-based technologies.
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