The continuing rain and damp in Northern Europe, accompanying the hottest winter to-date, seem to have hit hydrogen especially hard this February 2024….
On February 2, 2024 the ambitious Power to Methanol project in the port of Antwerp, started in 2019 to produce methanol from captured CO2 combined with hydrogen that has been sustainably generated from renewable electricity; with each tonne of methanol produced at least one tonne of CO2 emissions would be avoided. The consortium, ENGIE, Fluxys, Indaver, INOVYN, Advario, Participate maatshappij Vlaanderen (PMV) and Port of Antwerp-Bruges, closed shop as they indicated that ” the project’s economic viability has come under significant strain. Escalating costs, primarily influenced by the ongoing energy crisis and geopolitical uncertainties, have rendered the production of e-methanol financially unfeasible. The substantial increase in e-methanol production costs no longer aligns with the pricing expectations of the transport sector and major industrial buyers. Despite intensive commercial endeavors to engage potential e-methanol off takers, these efforts did not yield the desired outcomes to warrant a final investment decision. Notably, the immaturity of the e-methanol market, coupled with pervasive uncertainties, has led to the reluctance of potential buyers to commit to long-term contracts in line with the project’s duration….”
On February 6, 2024 Dutch fuel cell maker Nedstack, announced it was insolvent, as it was looking at ways to continue their maritime business units. Seen as the Dutch hopeful to put NL on the global hydrogen stage, especially in its traditional maritime sector, and granted 20 mln NL State Aid proof funding to build a giga factory under the EU Important Projects of Common European interest, increasing costs and slow funding mechanisms, showed that innovation curves are still facing immense challenges before reaching a market.
Also on February 6 the EU Commission surprised many with its Communication Towards an ambitious Industrial Carbon Management, putting Carbon Capture and Storage and Utilisation firmly back on the map. The communication is detailing plans, already included in the Zero Net Industry Act, to capture 50 mln tonnes of CO2 of hard to abate sectors by 2030.
On the same day the agreement between EU Council and the EU Parliament to include nuclear energy as a strategic technology in its Net Zero Industry Action raised eyebrows, as even the EU Commission president, during the course of the day, seemed not in line on the strategic position of nuclear energy. The 17 strategic technologies in the Zero Net Industry Act now include renewable energy (wind and solar), nuclear energy (fission, fusion, fuel cycle), energy storage; capture, transport, injection, storage and use of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide; hydrogen (transport, electrolysers, fuel cells, propulsion and production and refuelling infrastructures), alternative fuels, bio-methane, electric vehicle recharging, heat pumps, energy efficiency, thermal energy distribution and electricity networks, thermonuclear fusion, electrification and high-efficiency industrial processes for energy and carbon-intensive industries, production of biomaterials and recycling. Recent publications on advancements in especialy small fusion reactors, supported by big names as in Breakthrough Technologies that have courted the Commission, must have spurred EU’s support.
Ten days later on February 16, 2024, the former director of Germany’s Hydrogen Programme NOW, now a high ranking regulatory officer in the German Transport Ministry, including hydrogen, was led go after allegations in the media of favouring longtime hydrogen friends. Like in many countries, pioneers in industrial hydrogen development, especially with longtime technical and manegerial expertise, are sought after to lead the new ministerial departments dealing with these new technologies. But as hydrogen budgets have been growing exponentially over the last years, the need for governance and transparent procedures to allocate those, seem not yet commonplace. Especially the allocations in the ongoing and upcoming EU auctions have already caught the eye of campaigners for a bigger (economic) role of the Global South in the world’s transition to Net Zero.