“Hydrogen for Europe” study launch

The EU’s ambition to reach climate neutrality by 2050 has recently pushed hydrogen at the top of the European energy policy agenda as the limits of electrification became clear alongside the need to find a solution for the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors.

As Europe prepares to roll out legislation aimed at accelerating the production of hydrogen, Hydrogen for Europe charts two potential pathways “ Technology diversity” and “Renewable Push” with an in-depth look at their implications, based on actual European targets and transparent modelling frameworks. The research project looks at the technology mix, cost of the transition, and risks associated with different policy choices.

It finds that the contribution of hydrogen to decarbonizing the EU’s energy system can well exceed EU projections, with demand potentially exceeding 100 million tonnes of H2 by 2050. It also stressed the essential role played by low-carbon hydrogen (which can be produced from natural gas in combination with CCS, or methane pyrolysis) can play in supporting the deployment of renewable hydrogen and the integration of higher volumes of renewable energy overall.

In both scenarios, renewable hydrogen production scales up rapidly after 2030. However, a more diverse technology mix enables a lower-cost (€1 trillion less from now until 2050) and a more effective pathway to EU climate neutrality by 2050.

The study was conducted by research partners IFP Énergies Nouvelles (IFPEN) , SINTEF and Deloitte on behalf of the funding partners of Hydrogen for Europe of which includes IOGP and some of its Member companies.

About the project partners

Hydrogen4EU is a cross-sectoral research project aiming to concretely assess the potential contribution of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in reaching the European energy transition goals. Based on modelling prepared by the project’s Research partners, IFP Énergies Nouvelles (research), SINTEF (research) and Deloitte (project management), the project aims to chart pathways exploring the role of hydrogen in a decarbonized European energy system. The research was funded by 17 partners: BP, ConocoPhillips, Concawe, ENI, Equinor, Ervia, ExxonMobil, Gassco, Hydrogen Europe, IOGP, Norwegian Oil & Gas Association, OMV, Shell, Snam, Total, Wintershall Dea, Zukunft Gas.

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