Hydrogen Infrastructure in the Future CO2-Neutral European Energy System—How Does the Demand for Hydrogen Affect the Need for Infrastructure?

Abstract

The fast rollout of hydrogen generation, transport, and storage infrastructure has become a top priority of the European Union and its member states. Planning hydrogen infrastructure requires a thorough understanding of the future role of hydrogen in the energy system. At the same time, there is still huge uncertainty about the future demand for hydrogen and its overall role. An energy systems analysis is conducted with high temporal and spatial as well as technological resolution under alternative demand scenarios. An energy system model is used to optimize the entire European energy system with hourly time resolution and high spatial consideration of renewable energy potentials. The hydrogen demand in the five scenarios ranges from about 700 TWh for mainly industrial uses to 2800 TWh in all sectors in the EU27 + UK by 2050. The results show that an integrated European hydrogen system is a robust element of the cost-optimal system design in all scenarios. This encompasses flexible electrolyzers at the most favorable wind and solar locations, long-distance hydrogen transport network, large-scale seasonal underground storage, and electricity generation for peak demand periods. Conclusions about the individual components are provided and high-resolution data on hydrogen demand are available for future research.