What role will hydrogen play in Slovenia’s energy independence?

Green hydrogen is an important link in the transition to a carbon-free society, but many challenges and open questions remain.

Ljubljana, April 9, 2024

As part of the AMETHyST  project, an event was held on the topic of establishing hydrogen value chains in Slovenia. BSC Kranj – Regional Development Agency of Gorenjska also cooperated with the expertise acquired as part of the H2MA project. In the discussion, the experts agreed that hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in the green transition and the reduction of society’s carbon footprint, but they also highlighted a number of challenges and open questions.

In the first part of the discussion on the topic of policies and economic frameworks necessary for the introduction of wider green hydrogen use, the following panellists participated: Davor Rašić, undersecretary of the Energy Directorate of the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy; Mitja Mori, associate professor of the Department of Energy Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering UL; Matevž Šilc, project manager at KSSENA Institute, Blanka Odlazek, project manager at BSC Kranj – Regional Development Agency of Gorenjska; Aleš Bratkovič, director of RECUPERA Ltd and Vlasta Krmelj, director of ENERGAP.

Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources (e.g. sun, wind, water) is called green hydrogen. Hydrogen produced from nuclear energy is called pink hydrogen. Gray hydrogen is produced from methane or natural gas, without capturing the greenhouse gases produced in the process.

The discussants agreed that due to the growing demand for electricity and human influence on climate change, it is important to increase production sources of electricity that reduce negative environmental impacts and are acceptable for Slovenia. The mentioned sources also include the production of electricity from renewable energy sources, which, however, present both opportunities and challenges in the production of hydrogen.

Hydrogen has been used in industry for decades, but is mostly not produced from renewable energy sources. The participants in the discussion agreed that they see a role for hydrogen produced in a more environmentally friendly way, mainly in the decarbonisation of industry and partly in transport with heavy vehicles. At the same time, the development and research activity related to the development of hydrogen technologies can also have a positive impact on the economy.

There are many challenges in establishing hydrogen value chains. In the following, we highlight only a few of those that were mentioned at the event. Green hydrogen, as an energy carrier, is, in the ideal and most reasonable scenario, produced from surpluses of energy produced from renewable sources with the help of an electrolyser, but the production of electricity from renewable sources is not constant and therefore does not guarantee constant surpluses of electricity production. On the other hand, current electrolyser technology requires a more or less constant operating frequency of the electrolyser for optimal life of the electrolyser and acceptable operating costs. The latter represents a challenge in terms of production costs and production capacities, which can be reduced with new generations of electrolysers with improved technology, stated professor Mori.

Professor Mori also pointed out that the expansion of the production of green hydrogen will lead to an increased demand for raw materials that are needed for the production of electrolyser components, and at least one of these raw materials is undesirable for use from the point of view of the European Commission. When evaluating green hydrogen, it is therefore necessary to look at the entire life cycle. At the same time, depending on the demand for these raw materials, production capacities and supply chains, the price of these raw materials will increase, which will also affect the final price of green hydrogen.

One of the challenges is also the education of the staff that will need to be employed in the hydrogen industry, said Vlasta Krmelj, Ph.D. in the field of chemical technology.

From the point of view of planning investments in infrastructure for hydrogen in road freight and transit passenger transport, Matevž Šilc highlighted the difficulty of forecasting demand in a certain time frame and thus determining the optimal scenario of investments in production distribution and charging infrastructure for hydrogen up to certain time milestones.

Blanka Odlazek from BSC Kranj – Regional Development Agency of Gorenjska pointed out that there is not enough discussion about the safety aspects of the transport of green hydrogen, especially the transport of green hydrogen by water bound to ammonia. Ammonia spills into waters due to accidents potentially represent ecological disasters on a much larger scale than fossil fuel spills currently represent.

Insufficient consideration is given to other possible ways of producing hydrogen, which could also be financially sustainable and environmentally acceptable and perhaps also address other problem areas, such as e.g. waste management. In any case, the majority of the professional public from the stakeholder group silently nods to the production of pink hydrogen, even though it was not highlighted in the discussion.

Regardless of the production method and energy source, one of the main components in the preparation of business models for hydrogen production is ensuring demand. Without a constant, stable demand for hydrogen, even a good business model remains in the drawer.

In the second part of the event, Andrej Vastil from the Ministry of Defense, Tine Tomažič, technical director of PIPISTREL, Andrej Ipavec, development director of Salonit Anhovo, and Tilen Sever, research scientist at the company Steklarna Hrastnik d. o. o., presented experiences, challenges and progress in the practical introduction of hydrogen use through pilot projects.

Due to the high costs and investments required to establish hydrogen value chains, financial support of the state and the European Union will be needed. European projects such as AMETHyST, H2MA and especially the most important hydrogen project for Slovenia at the moment, the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project, thus play a key role in the development of policies and strategies for green production and use of hydrogen. Projects of this type strengthen international cooperation and the exchange of expertise, which creates added value and are a leading element in the establishment of safety standards, eliminate critical points and administrative obstacles and in the future can also be a source for investments in infrastructure.

You can read more about the safety aspects of transporting ammonia-bound hydrogen at the link.

You can read more about the colour names of hydrogen according to the method of hydrogen production at the link.