Electrolysis and waste heat utilisation in the sustainable transition of Germany's energy system

Abstract

The article examines the use of the by-product waste heat in hydrogen projects in Germany. It identifies several conditions for the use of waste heat. These relate to infrastructure, electrolysis operating modes and sector coupling. It uses a set-theoretic method to attribute causality between these conditions and the outcome, in order to arrive at a robust comparison of the heterogeneous cases. Counter-intuitively, our analysis suggests that the absence of gas infrastructure, along with existing district heating systems, is the strongest explanatory condition for waste heat recovery, with industrial participation supporting this.