Capacity of electrolysis projects planned by 2030 in Germany rises to 8.7 GW – E.ON

The expansion of green hydrogen production efforts Germany is slowing down, says a report commissioned by utility E.ON. “The hydrogen generation capacity planned by 2030 has risen from 8.1 gigawatts in February 2023 to 8.7 gigawatts in August 2023,” yet is still short of the government target of at least 10 GW, E.ON said. “Even though there is still a slight upward trend here, the increase is nowhere near as strong as in the months from July 2022 to February 2023.” 33 electrolysers with a combined capacity of 62 megawatts are currently in operation in the country, according to the report, which is based on data from the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne. By 2030, this number will rise to 111 plants with a total capacity of 8,712 megawatts, according to current plans, but it remains uncertain whether these will actually be built, E.ON said.

The utility company said the current political and regulatory frameworks are insufficient to limit the existing technology, demand and infrastructure risks, and to make the costs of producing green hydrogen in particular competitive. E.ON board member Patrick Lammers said the hydrogen ramp-up needed to be accelerated urgently. “The discrepancy between planned projects and final investment decisions is far too great,” he added.

Hydrogen made with renewable electricity (green hydrogen) has emerged as a key stepping stone to reach net-zero climate targets. The climate-neutral gas now looks set to become the technology of choice to decarbonise sectors where emission reductions are particularly difficult, for example in heavy industry and aviation. As one of the key drivers behind a pan-European effort, Germany has set out to become a global leader in what is sometimes referred to as "tomorrow's oil" – not only to launch the next stages of its landmark energy transition, but also to secure a promising growth market for its internationally reputed industry.