Seven announced a global coalition that will accelerate the scale and production of green hydrogen 50-fold in the next six years, helping to transform the world’s most carbon intensive industries, including shipping.
The new “Green Hydrogen Catapult” initiative will see green hydrogen industry companies, including ACWA Power, CWP Renewables, Envision, Iberdrola, Ørsted, Snam, and Yara, target the deployment of 25 gigawatts through 2026 of renewables-based hydrogen production, with a view to halve the current cost of hydrogen to below US$2 per kilogram.
Recent analysis shows that a US$2-per-kilogram price represents a potential tipping point that will make green hydrogen and its derivative fuels the energy source of choice across multiple sectors, where ample near-term demand exists in Europe and elsewhere. Green ammonia, a derivative of green hydrogen, is also being tested to displace fossil fuels in thermal power generation, greatly decreasing the emissions intensity of existing energy infrastructure.
In addition, green hydrogen is produced by using renewable energy to power electrolysis that splits water into its constituent parts. It is widely regarded as the leading contender to decarbonize emissions-intensive heavy industry and transport sectors.
“Having led the race to deliver photovoltaic energy at well-below US$2 cents per kilowatt-hour, in certain geographies, we believe the collective ingenuity and entrepreneurship of the private sector can deliver green hydrogen at less than US$2 per kilogram within four years. From an industry perspective, we see no technical barriers to achieving this, so it’s time to get on with the virtuous cycle of cost reduction through scale up
stated Paddy Padmanathan, CEO of ACWA Power.
The Green Hydrogen Catapult also aims to align the production and use of green hydrogen with a trajectory that displaces fossil fuels at a rate consistent with achieving net zero global emissions by 2050, and limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In this way, the initiative is a key element of the private sector climate action strategy being pursued by UN High-Level Champions for Global Climate Action Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Muñoz through their “Race to Zero” campaign.
What is more, it is now estimated that green hydrogen could supply up to 25% of the world’s energy needs by 2050 and become a US$10 trillion addressable market by 2050. These projections are underpinned by the recent emergence of strong hydrogen-focused national hydrogen strategies including in Australia, Chile, Germany, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and South Korea.
The Catapult target will require investment of roughly US$110 billion and deliver more than 120,000 jobs, thus in parallel facilitating recovery from COVID-19.
