The goal: greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. With the Green Deal, European countries have committed themselves to the energy transition. A team from Jülich Systems Analysis at Forschungszentrum Jülich has investigated how this can be achieved. In a study with a high temporal and spatial resolution, they show how Europe can best exploit its potential. Important findings: Nuclear power will only play a role if investment costs fall significantly. Global hydrogen imports will only become more important if the expansion of renewables and grid capacities is sluggish - or if import prices of less than 3 euros per kilogram are to be expected in the short term.
As Europe's largest industrialized nation, Germany will have the greatest demand for electricity and hydrogen in the future, with shares of 11% of total electricity demand, taking into account electricity demand for hydrogen, heat and fuel production, and 21% of total demand for hydrogen. Greenhouse gas neutrality in Germany, which has been brought forward to 2045, is also fueling the expansion of renewable energies in other European countries through additional electricity and hydrogen imports to Germany. Germany will import 35% of its electricity requirements and 80% of its hydrogen requirements. To store the hydrogen, Germany must convert all the salt caverns currently used to store natural gas to hydrogen storage. An additional 80 new caverns will have to be built in Germany in order to be prepared for large-scale dark doldrums in Europe. In contrast to the results of other studies, however, hydrogen reconversion to electricity will only play a minor role as long as all countries continue to expand renewables.
