In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels, hydrogen will probably not be useful for heating buildings. This is shown by 18 studies published by independent organizations since 2019. On the one hand, the costs for green hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen produced with renewable energy, are too high, on the other, the conversion is too inefficient. This is evidenced by work by the UN Climate Council IPCC on the International Energy Agency IEA and McKinsey.
The costs per unit of heat are higher than with heat pumps or district heating. In addition, five to six times as much renewable electricity is needed to provide the same amount of heat via green hydrogen instead of a heat pump, says energy expert Jan Rosenow, who compiled the studies, in an interview with the energy website Recharge. Rosenow also considers it a “myth” that heat pumps cannot be used in cold climates.
Conversion is also problematic
Producing hydrogen from natural gas and using it for heating would emit more methane than burning the gas directly. But there are also problems with the conversion of existing gas appliances and gas networks to hydrogen.
Even of the gas networks gathered in the “ready4h2” hydrogen lobby group, only a quarter expect to be 100 percent hydrogen ready by 2035, according to their December 2021 report “Ready4H2: Europe’s local hydrogen networks”.
Other sources Rosenow refers to include Imperial College, IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), and Germany’s Öko-Institut. Everyone sees an important role for hydrogen in the transformation of the energy supply – but in any case for building heating.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
