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A new breath for hydrogen

Hydrogen, the most widespread atom in the universe, cannot claim to be a story in itself. The notoriety of this atom (or molecule: dihydrogen, H2, is commonly known as hydrogen) will exempt us from harping on about Captain Nemo’s vision of Jules Vernes’ Mysterious Island, or from plunging back into the debate on the advantages of lighter-than-air versus heavier-than-air for air transport (with its champion, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin), or even from recalling more recent broken promises. And yet, with the announcement of the German, European and French plans (among others), it seems that with hydrogen, there is finally “something new in the state of energy”. On 17 February last, by ordinance, a new book (the 8th) was even dedicated to it in the French Energy Code. Is this new enthusiasm not rooted in the contrasting – even paradoxical – properties of hydrogen itself? Today, expectations are proportional to the resources announced (€7 billion for France alone). Success will certainly depend on a good mastery of these paradoxes.

Let’s go back over the main strategic plans around hydrogen

With the “Hulot” plan in 2018, France was the first to lay the foundations for the change of scale by setting out the objectives for 2020 in the PPE (Multiannual Energy Plan) decrees:

  • Rate of decarbonized hydrogen in industrial hydrogen in 2023: 10% (~100.000t/year)
  • Rate of decarbonized hydrogen in industrial hydrogen in 2028: 20% to 40% (~200,000 to 400,000t/year)

The announcement of the “National Strategy (Plan??) for the Development of Decarbonized Hydrogen in France” on 8/9/2020 not only confirmed the trajectory – 6.5GW of electrolysis in 2030 – but also budgeted financial resources: €7 billion including €3.4 billion for 2020-2023.

Finally, with the publication of the ordinance of 17/2/21 (which was provided for in the Climate Energy Law of 8/11/2019), a legal framework is being put in place; particularly by providing for a support mechanism for electrolysis production via calls for tenders (support in addition to remuneration and/or CAPEX).

Other European countries quickly followed suit by publishing ever more ambitious hydrogen plans, following the example of Germany in June 2020: 38 measures, €7 billion allocated to the promotion of hydrogen in Germany + €2 billion for international partnerships on hydrogen.

Obviously, at a European level, we are still changing scale: with the publication by the Commission on 8/7/2020 of “a hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe”, the objectives are moving towards:

  • 6 GW electrolyser capacity by 2024
  • 40 GW electrolyser capacity by2030

But hydrogen remains a paradoxical molecule

The high hopes of hydrogen for the transport sector (just like its too often postponed promises) are linked to its different energy density measurement: one of the highest densities per kg (more than 3 times the energy density of oil) but one of the lowest in volume (less than one third than that of natural gas), which obliges us to consider important compression levels – up to 750 bar – for mobility purposes.

Today, its most critical paradox lies in its impact on climate. Similar to electricity, hydrogen is a zero-emission energy carrier: its “combustion” only produces water. If the energy used for its production is clean, hydrogen will be clean (as is the case of hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water from renewable electricity). It is on this promise that the various hydrogen strategies have been developed as an essential technology for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. But hydrogen can also achieve the worst carbon footprint per unit of energy: up to almost 1.5tCO2eq per MWh (in the case of electrolysis using coal-fired electricity).

At a European level, this risk does not seem to worry DG Clima which, looking ahead, is ready to deem as ‘clean’ any electricity drawn from the network since it will have to be clean in the long term. DG Comp, on the other hand, before approving the support mechanisms needed for the hydrogen sector (billions budgeted by the national plans) would like to know how to ensure at any given time that the H2 produced by electrolysis does indeed lead to the promised reduction in emissions.

No matter how boring this question may be, the credibility of the sector will depend on the quality of the answer.

An abundance of answers is currently under discussion: dedicated line / long term contract / PPAs / time correlation / geographical correlation, with renewable / low carbon / additional / subsidized / non-subsidized / certified by guarantees of origin / block-chain technology… and the sector is holding its breath waiting for clear rules.

In France, the electricity mix is already largely decarbonised, between the closure of the last coal-fired power plants scheduled for 2022, stable (or even decreasing) consumption and a Multiannual Energy Plan which foresees in its medium scenario more than 57 GW of additional solar and wind power capacity between 2019 and 2028. An “off-peak base ” operating mode (between 7500 and 8000 hours of annual operation and the capacity mechanism clearly indicates the hours to be avoided) should therefore satisfy the Commission.

In fact, if we extrapolate the monotone of solar + wind energy production in 2019 from this additional capacity, which represents more than 260% of the capacity in 2019, we obtain the following capacity values :

Thus, approx. 5GW of “new” renewable hydrogen will be available for nearly 8000 hours by 2028 and the 6.5GW planned for 2030 will also be able to claim the quality of renewable hydrogen.

The sector is waiting for the publication of the “Delegated Act” of the Directive on the promotion of renewable energies (RED 2) which must define the conditions under which hydrogen produced by electricity drawn from the network can be included in the national objectives for the share of renewable energies in the transport sector (objective of 14% by 2030). The publication of this Delegated Act by the European Commission is planned for the end of 2021 and is likely to set a precedent for the qualification of hydrogen produced by electrolysis, regardless of its final use. Therefore, it is not our intention to close the debate here, but rather hope that these projections will contribute to the current enthusiasm for the development of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen!

Philippe Boulanger

 

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Diego graduated in Political Economy at King’s College University (London – 2021). He started his professional career in a family business in Madrid as an operations manager. Diego then studied a Master in Management and Master in Computer Science at IE University (Madrid – 2022), during which he participated as an Information Technology (IT) intern in a startup. In May 2023, Diego joined the HES team as an intern specialised in programming models. In his first project, he developed a software tool for modelling the unavailability of the French nuclear fleet. Afterwards, Diego has also participated in the development of new software tools for modelling price curves, generation asset performance and other topics related to the energy market. 

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Céline joined Haya Energy Solutions in November 2021 as marketing and administration manager. She had a first professional experience in the tourism sector as a social media manager. At HES, her activities are focused on the development of the company’s visibility at European level through: commercial actions, content marketing and development of brand strategy. Céline is also involved in the management of the company’s communication: optimisation of the website (WordPress & Elementor), LinkedIn, publication of the monthly newsletter and the organisation of conferences. Céline participates in energy projects with the clients and acts as coordinator and project manager. Finally, she is in charge of administration (accounting, expenses management, invoicing).   

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Céline graduated in Spanish and English Philology at La Sorbonne (France – 2018) and holds a Master’s degree in Project Management and Cultural Tourism (Clermont-Ferrand/ Buenos Aires – 2021). 

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“Decarbonization of the Energy and Transport sectors is arguably today’s main economic driver for the industry.”

Profesional Experience

His career started in civil engineering as a Project Manager in France, Martinique and Australia. Afterwards, he became the General Manager of a subsidiary in Venezuela. In 1992, he established Dalkia in Germany (district heating, cogeneration, and partnerships) and represented Véolia in Thailand. In 2000, he opened the commercial office of Endesa in France to take advantage of the liberalized retail market. From 2006, as a development Manager at Endesa France, he led Endesa’s plan for Combined Cycle generation in France and developed the wind and PV portfolio of Snet at the same time. Philippe Boulanger worked for 3 years at E.ON’s headquarters coordinating the company´s activities in France. He was strongly involved in the French hydro concession renewal project. As a Senior Vice President – Project Director at Solvay Energy Services from April 2012 to February 2014 he was in charge of the H2/Power to gas and European direct market access deployment projects. Philippe has been an HES expert since 2014.

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Philippe Boulanger holds engineering degrees both from the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale des Ponts & Chaussées (France) and has a combined experience of more than 25 years in energy and infrastructure. In addition to English, Mr. Boulanger is fluent in French, German & Spanish.

Philippe Boulanger

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“The world is changing. New investors pay particular attention to the energy sector while historical actors adapt their position to the market.”

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Antonio started his career in the electricity sector in 1991 working as a member of the General Manager’s team at Sevillana de Electricidad (Spain). In 1997, he was appointed head of commercial regulation at Endesa Distribución. In 2000, he joined the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) department of Endesa Europe. He was appointed Managing Director of Endesa Power Trading Ltd (UK) in 2003. A year later, he became responsible for energy management at SNET (France). In 2008, he was appointed Managing Director of SNET (France). In 2009, he became Director of Corporate Development at E.ON France. In 2011, he founded Haya Energy Solutions (HES), a consulting firm focused on optimising the energy management of consumers, producers and retailers of gas and electricity. From 2015 to 2018, Antonio combined the consulting activity at HES with the general management of 2 production facilities in France (2 CCGTs x 410MW), owned by KKR. At the end of 2018, he joined Asterion Industrial Partners, an infrastructure investment fund, as an operating partner. Antonio currently devotes most of his efforts to the Asterion Portfolio, while advising through HES companies in the energy sector in France, Italy, Germany, UK and Spain. 

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Antonio graduated from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros of Seville (Spain) and holds an MBA degree from Deusto University (Spain). 

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