Unlocking the hydrogen economy’s enormous potential

There has been much discussion recently about the hydrogen economy and it is believed to be a way to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy production, industry and transport. In the hydrogen economy, renewable — i.e. green hydrogen is used as an energy source to enable emission-free energy production.

The potential of the hydrogen economy is huge — it requires bold legal reforms and research

The hydrogen economy has great potential to enable more sustainable energy production. In 2019, 70 Mt of hydrogen was produced globally and 99% of the hydrogen produced was made from fossil energy sources. Demand for hydrogen has also grown significantly in recent years.

To secure a good life for future generations requires radical changes to the current energy system on a fast timeline. The green transition is a multidimensional process that requires a holistic vision to implement a smart transition. Now is the time to put the Paris Agreement into concrete action. Funding must be targeted so that it is profitable for companies to invest in new technologies; part of the implementation could, for example, occur through taxation. In addition, hydrogen’s large potential uses in the chemical industry — such as biofuels, methanol and ammonia — and replacing coal with green hydrogen in the steel industry play a major part in reducing industrial emissions. Sweco´s environmental services.

Policymakers must now undertake bold legislative reforms to bring about change, and research must be invested in to find workable solutions. Changing the energy infrastructure requires substantial resources so it can be implemented economically and on a sufficiently rapid schedule. With current measures, Finland’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2035 is very optimistic. Action is needed from both the public and private sectors. Individual attitudes also have a major impact on the success of the green transition. Even small steps toward a 100% renewable energy system can have a large effect if they are taken in large numbers.

Green energy stored in hydrogen evens out energy production

The variability of key renewable energy sources such as solar energy and wind power can be addressed by producing hydrogen via water electrolysis. When there is excess electricity generation, the surplus can be used to produce hydrogen, since storing energy as hydrogen is a cheaper method than storing electrical energy in batteries. Energy stored in hydrogen can be converted back into electricity when electricity production is low, or used in industry and as transport fuel. Hydrogen balances the power system and electricity price fluctuations. Thus, hydrogen production has an important role in smoothing the variability of renewable energy sources and in reducing industrial carbon emissions.

Sweco is involved in several projects supporting the green transition and, together with the Finnish companies

P2X Solutions Oy, is designing and delivering a green hydrogen production facility in Harjavalta. The aim is to build a facility with a capacity of 20 megawatts. That plant is estimated to reduce Finland’s CO2 emissions by up to 40,000 tonnes annually, which corresponds to the yearly carbon footprint of about 3,900 average Finns. In addition, Sweco has been selected as the designer of domestic energy company Helen’s first hydrogen plant. That hydrogen plant would use Power-to-H2-to-Power technology, meaning the produced hydrogen could be converted back into electricity using fuel cells.

Authors Saara Wahlberg and Veera Leinonen are currently summer employees at Sweco. Saara is a fourth-year chemical engineering student and Veera is in her fourth year of environmental engineering at LUT University.