European Union's Carbon Neutrality by 2050: Study Shows the Crucial Role of Electrifying Hydrogen to Cut Long-term Emiss
A new research study in the International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems is available in ScienceDirect to analyse the impact of large-scale hydrogen electrification and retrofitting of natural gas infrastructure on the European power system.
The Paris Agreement, which came into force in 2016, sets out goals to prevent global warming exceeding 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. In line with this, the EU seeks to become carbon neutral by 2050 as part of its Green Deal.
Crucial aspects to achieve a net-zero future are the electrification of end-use services in various sectors—from transport to industry—and the decarbonisation of electricity generation. This will be possible only through energy vectors, one of which is green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy.
In a recent scientific paper, researchers set out a reference scenario for the European power system in 2050 and they use scenario variants to obtain additional insights and analyse the effects of different assumptions. The study uses the European electricity market model COMPETES-TNO to analyse the different scenarios.
In addition, the research proposes a new formulation to retrofit existing natural gas networks to transport hydrogen instead of methane. Results show that using electricity for hydrogen production cuts carbon emissions by 35%, and flexible electricity-based hydrogen production would boost renewables by 48%.
Thus, investments in a hydrogen network through retrofitting or new pipelines turn out to be fundamental for emission reduction, while relying on electricity transmissions only would increase both costs and emissions.
This research offers valuable insights for analysing the impact of hydrogen production, decarbonisation, and electrification scenarios on the infrastructure development, generation mix, emissions, and system costs of the European power system, considering the retrofit of the natural gas infrastructure.
For more information on this research, please refer to the full paper published in ScienceDirect.
Coordinator
Juha Kiviluoma, VTT
info@tools-for-energy-system-modelling.org
Communication manager
Erika Novellini, ICONS
info@tools-for-energy-system-modelling.org
Project website: https://www.tools-for-energy-system-modelling.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mopo-project/
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