Which role do you think green hydrogen will play in achieving the EU\u2019s climate neutrality\u00a0target by 2050 and the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nVan Wijk:\u00a0By 2050, green hydrogen must have become an essential part of the energy mix,\u00a0which I think will consist of 50% electricity, mainly from solar and wind power, and 50% hy-\u00a0drogen. We must not forget that green hydrogen is produced from clean electricity. The energy\u00a0system will be electricity-based, but part of the renewable energy will be converted into hydrogen for transport and storage reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A massive increase in the use of green hydrogen is part of the EU\u2019s strategic vision. What\u00a0needs to be done to reach this goal?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nVan Wijk: Currently, hydrogen accounts for 2% of the global energy consumption. The primary sources of energy are fossil fuels, such as natural gas. However, things are beginning to change. Five years ago, nobody would have thought that we would be able to transport renewable energy all over the world, simply because it was so expensive to produce. Today, the cost of solar and wind energy has decreased drastically. On average, the most cost-efficient options are roughly between 1 and 2 cents per kilowatt hour. This is the reason why green energy is becoming more and more relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the time has come for the next step: There are regions on this planet, such as the Sahara Desert, that have enormous potential for renewable energy. This resource must be tapped in the coming years. We have to abandon the idea of generating renewable energy solely in our immediate environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What will be needed in the upcoming years in terms of political conditions and technological\u00a0developments?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nVan Wijk: As a professor at a university of technology, I can tell you that the necessary tech- nology has already existed for 100 years. However, electrolyzers are currently being used for the production of chlorine from salt dissolved in water. We have to adapt them specifically for hydrogen production. And we have to convert the existing natural-gas infrastructure to an in- frastructure for hydrogen. That\u2019s not something a company can do; it\u2019s a task to be taken on by governments. Now is the time to do it, given the need to stimulate the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is your personal vision of the energy system of the future? What are your hopes and\u00a0expectations?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nVan Wijk: We still have great challenges ahead of us. I am currently involved in the European Union\u2019s work on hydrogen legislation. If we deal with hydrogen merely in a subparagraph of major energy regulations, there will never be a system change. Apart from the energy targets, we also have to bear in mind the opportunities offered by green hydrogen. For example, step- ping up the production of hydrogen in Northern Africa will create jobs and generate economic growth. This could be a way to reduce emigration from that region. Europe, for its part, has the potential to become the global leader in industrial electrolysis. If we succeed in creating the appropriate political framework for these developments, a sustainable energy future will come within reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/www.wienerberger.com\/en\/annual-report.html#!\/en\/WkMlnB9q\/tailwind-for-hydrogen\/?page=1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tailwind for Hydrogen. Hydrogen – a substance with a future \u201cTHERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE\u00a0TO GREEN\u00a0HYDROGEN\u201d Professor van Wijk, green hydrogen is regarded as the key to the energy system of the future.\u00a0What is it that makes this gas so special? Van Wijk: There are two main reasons why green hydrogen is important. First of all, renewable energies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1471,"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469\/revisions\/1471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profadvanwijk.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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