The Blue Banana As A Future Hydrogen Corridor

Abstract

In order to limit global warming to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures, a lot still needs to happen. Carbon free hydrogen as an energy carrier can significantly reduce the CO₂ emissions of the entire energy system. In this report, a concept for a spatially efficient, initial hydrogen corridor in the European Union is proposed. The corridor links up areas with high hydrogen consumption to regions with great hydrogen production potential. The spatial distribution of hydrogen demand in a bottom-up scenario was determined first. With this information an optimal hydrogen corridor was composed and subsequently the consumption potential for this corridor was estimated. Finally a hydrogen system was designed with plans for production, transmission and storage. The areas that make up the corridor, going from the Sahara to the North of England, have a combined surface area of only 7% of the EU total. The proposed corridor currently consumes 50% of the total hydrogen consumption in the EU. In 2050 the corridor will consume an estimated 33% of the EU total. In an ambitious scenario, the proposed system is designed to produce and transport almost 31 million tons of hydrogen, or about 1200 TWh, to the corridor. About 35% of the hydrogen is produced in the EU, mainly on the North-Sea, and the rest in the Sahara desert. The hydrogen is distributed among the corridor by identifying 7800 kilometers of existing natural gas infrastructure. The estimated levelised cost of hydrogen transmission amount to 0.12 € per kilogram. Next to that more than enough hydrogen storage potential is available in the vicinity of the infrastructure using already existing rock-salt caverns. Although the project presented in this research may be of large scale and bring severe challenges, the positive environmental consequences are potentially even greater. The EU has the bold ambition to make Europe the first climate neutral continent on the planet and this hydrogen corridor can very significantly contribute to this ambition. Furthermore the EU currently has the political and economic power, as well as the required knowledge, to take a leading role in the development of hydrogen technology. A leading role that may turn out to be very profitable because hydrogen, with its versatility and undeniable strength to decarbonise entire energy systems, will undoubtedly be used by the rest of the world.