Germany: As part of a contract reached by Economy Minister of Germany Robert Habeck during a trip to the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, Germany officially received its first shipment of hydrogen from that country on Friday.
Habeck made a symbolic gesture by turning on a gas spigot during a ceremony in the northern port city of Hamburg to commemorate the event.
We must accelerate the conversion to hydrogen now more than ever, according to Economy Minister.
In an effort to meet its climate goals, Germany has been considering hydrogen as a potential “greener” alternative to fossil fuels in industry. However, the “flip” has been accelerated by Russia cutting off gas shipments amid tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
A single container containing 13 metric tonnes (14.3 US tonnes) of liquid ammonia, a standard technique to store the difficult-to-transport gas, was delivered to Hamburg on Friday. However, further shipments are anticipated.
Additionally, the hydrogen that was provided was “blue” hydrogen, which is produced using fossil fuels. Germany hopes to transition to “green” hydrogen produced with the aid of renewable energy in order to achieve its ambitious climate aim of reducing greenhouse emissions to “net zero” by 2025.
Hamburg intends to construct an electrolysis facility that may convert hydrogen into gasoline in an effort to establish itself as a centre for the fuel.
Habeck pointed out that imports will also be essential for increasing supply for the time being.
