Austria Join the Hydrogen Race

The Austrian Federal Government has set the target of achieving climate neutrality in Austria in 2040. One of the key challenges in meeting this target is the transformation of the energy system towards renewable, efficient and safe energy supplies throughout all sectors. Sector-specific requirements call for differentiated solutions to efficiently decarbonise the energy system.

In combination with an extensive increase in the use of renewable energies – and the goal of the Austrian Government to provide 100% of the national electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030 – decarbonisation through direct electrification is the most efficient option for various applications. Additional measures to enhance energy efficiency and promote a circular economy shall further increase the decarbonisation potential of electrification.

At the same time, climate-neutral hydrogen can be an important sustainable option for a secure energy supply in Austria

At the same time, climate-neutral hydrogen can be an important sustainable option for a secure energy supply in Austria in the future. It can contribute to ensure the medium to long-term phase-out of the use of fossil gas and in doing so, lead to an important reduction of dependency on imported fossil energy.

Climate-neutral hydrogen can provide the key for decarbonisation especially in those sectors, for which (direct) electrification is not a viable decarbonisation path due to technical and economical limitations or in which hydrogen is needed as feedstock. Furthermore, functioning as an energy storage option, hydrogen plays a fundamental role in enabling a completely renewable energy system.

Climate-neutral hydrogen on the cards

Compatibility with the goal of achieving climate neutrality is only ensured through the use of climate-neutral hydrogen. In the intermediate term, it will remain a scarce and high-quality energy carrier and must therefore be used efficiently through focused deployment.

Apart from renewable hydrogen, climate-neutral hydrogen also includes hydrogen, which, as soon as the corresponding technology is ready to be applied, is produced from fossil gas through complete CO2 -separation (“blue hydrogen”) or through pyrolysis (“turquoise hydrogen”).

When using hydrogen from fossil gas, it has to be ensured, that CO2-separation occurs without any emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as no greenhouse gas emissions occur along the supply chain. In this context it has to be emphasised that “pink hydrogen” from nuclear energy and “blue hydrogen”, where the CO2 -separation is done by means of nuclear energy, are not sustainable and therefore do not constitute as “climate-neutral hydrogen”.

Currently, and for the decisive years of the market ramp-up, two production pathways are especially relevant for the commercial production of renewable hydrogen: electrolysis and the biogenic hydrogen production through biomass-gasification- Hydrogen Strategy for Austria 3 processes. The costs for those production technologies lie – in the short and intermediate term – well above the costs for fossil hydrogen.

Therefore, it is important to enable early investment decisions, especially through the creation of a level playing field. Electrolysis will also play an important role in the future energy system through its sector coupling function. By connecting the electricity and the gas-sector, renewable electricity can be stored in gaseous form and brought to non-electrified sectors. In the long run, the recirculation into the electricity system presents an option to seasonally shift renewable energy production. Electrolyser facilities can thus support grid stability, and provide a balancing input to the electricity system.

However, the operation of electrolysers during singular production peaks cannot be regarded as an economically feasible business model in the foreseeable future, especially when considering the predicted high future hydrogen demand.