Shaping the future of energy

Germany’s national hydrogen strategy is on the right track

With today’s adoption of a national hydrogen strategy, Germany’s federal government has ushered in a new era in energy and climate policy. The consistent implementation of the hydrogen strategy will effectively strengthen Germany's innovative capabilities. Now it is time to advance concrete projects based on the strategy. We at Siemens Energy strongly welcome this step.

Hydrogen offers tremendous potential for meeting the rising demand for energy worldwide while also protecting the environment in a way that makes economic sense. We must use this more consistently than we have in the past. Of course, policy alone won’t decide whether Germany will lead the transition to a new energy mix or fall behind. Policy provides the framework. But it’s up to us, Germany’s business and scientific communities, to develop innovative technologies, bring them up to an industrial scale, and build the necessary business models. Only then can we make Germany the world leader in this promising market and create future-safe jobs here at home.

Shaping the energy transition takes courage and consistency

At Siemens Energy, we are committed to supporting our customers in all areas of the economy in their transition from a carbon-based energy system to a sustainable one. With our expertise and our technologies along the entire energy value chain, we are excellently equipped.

The transformation of the energy world is happening from different starting points and at different speeds. The intensity depends on each country’s level of economic development and political agenda, as well as the access to energy sources. We must therefore deploy our entire range of technologies and products to successfully shape this transition together with our customers and partners. We’ll go one step at a time, but we have to be consistent and make sure we are always headed in the right direction. For that, it takes the courage to accept that some solutions will be transitional ones. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the overriding goal, which is to establish a reliable, affordable, carbon-free energy system for all people. That is essential for a successful energy transition – in Germany, in Europe, and worldwide.

Hydrogen is becoming increasingly important as a carrier and storage medium in various industries. For instance, it serves as a fuel for zero-emission power generation; as vehicle fuel; to produce synthetic fuels like methanol and ammonia or as the basis of chemical raw materials. Our next task is to make the production of green hydrogen cost-effective and jump-start the market. Armin Schnettler and his team in New Energy Business are working to further develop hydrogen technologies and their industrial use. The national hydrogen strategy provides a framework for making even faster progress.

Siemens Energy is a strong partner, ready to help shape the future of energy

And for that, we need a team. That is why we collaborate closely with partners in the political, research, and business communities. Last year, Siemens, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and the German State of Saxony launched the Hydrogen Laboratory G?rlitz (HLG), whose purpose is to explore the industrial application and scalability of hydrogen technologies.

With support from the EU and partners in industry and the energy sector, we are currently implementing the H2FUTURE project, under which we have installed a pilot system for producing green hydrogen at voestalpine’s plant in Linz, Austria. The project’s goal is to show that carbon-free steel production is possible. In France, we are partnering with industry and researchers on the HYFLEXPOWER project, the first demonstrational system for a fully integrated industrial power plant that can store hydrogen and convert it back into electricity.

This also addresses an important issue that we at Siemens Energy are working on intensively: We develop suitable storage and conversion processes that allow for a cost-effective, global distribution of hydrogen. Unfortunately, the renewable energy sources with which green hydrogen can be produced are often in short supply in our part of the world. We must therefore import energy. And that is precisely where Siemens Energy comes in. With our technologies, large plants for large-scale production of green hydrogen can be built on site, where green power is produced. The national hydrogen strategy rightly emphasizes this aspect explicitly.

With the EU Commission’s Green Deal, Europe could become the first continent to go completely carbon neutral. Hydrogen will play a crucial role in this endeavor. When Germany assumes the EU Council Presidency on July 1, it will have the opportunity to create even greater momentum for hydrogen. Now we have to take the lead right from the very start, because the global race is already on. Siemens Energy is ready. Let’s do this together.