Green Gas Key for EU Energy Transition: Report

The use of hydrogen and other green gases alongside renewable energies would produce a more resilient decarbonised European energy system, a report released June 21 claimed.

A European energy system that relies not only on renewable energies but also on green gases, such as decarbonised natural gas and renewable gas, is more resilient and thus better suited to reach the EU's climate targets, according to the report: "Hydrogen from natural gas - The key to deep decarbonisation" produced by consultancy firm Poyry for German gas lobby Zukunft Erdgas. 

The gas industry continues to seek to cement itself a key role in the energy transition. For the meantime, the planned transformation of the European energy system is based on the expansion of renewable energies and large-scale electrification but there has been a shift towards hydrogen as a cheaper and more practical alternative, as it can use existing infrastructure after some modifications.

Poyry says its analysis shows that electrification significantly increases the risk of missing the EU's climate targets. At the same time, green gas can be a useful addition to green electricity, especially in areas of application where electrification is difficult to achieve, such as heavy road transport, buildings with poor insulation or high temperature industrial process heat.

The report also asserts that the cost of the energy transition would be lower if green gases were part of the equation.

“Green gas must be part of the solution because it can use existing infrastructures and applications and thus significantly reduce the costs and risks of the energy system’s transformation,” said Zukunft Erdgas chairman, Timm Kehler. “In order to establish a market for it, we need a clear target for green gas that includes hydrogen from natural gas, renewable gas from electrolysis as well as biogas. The industry needs to start developing these promising green gas technologies today. To do this, they need a reliable framework."