The big goal is to keep global warming within tolerable limits. To achieve this, experts say that CO2 emissions must be reduced to zero by 2050 at the latest. Mankind therefore only has around 25 years left to stop burning fossil fuels such as gas and oil. The most important strategy of the states and private actors is called "electrification." But that alone is far from enough. It also needs a rapid and gigantic expansion of hydrogen infrastructure. MR has had experience with the production of hydrogen since 1992: the combination of vacuum on-load tap-changers and perfectly matched power quality solutions will facilitate the expansion.
Get the most out of Green H2 - with proven MR Solutions
The emission targets can only be achieved if massive amounts of green hydrogen are produced soon. For this to work, it also depends on the clever use of components such as on-load tap-changers.
Get the most out of Green H2 - with proven MR Solutions
The emission targets can only be achieved if massive amounts of green hydrogen are produced soon. For this to work, it also depends on the clever use of components such as on-load tap-changers.
Zero CO2 only works with lots of H2
The idea behind electrification: Instead of energy from fossil combustion, it should be renewably produced, electrical energy. In other words, e-cars instead of gasoline-powered cars, heat pumps instead of gas boilers, and so on. However, according to forecasts, this strategy will be able to save around 60 percent of all CO2 emissions.
This means: there will still be 40 percent of emissions left over for which another solution is needed. This is because there are large parts of the economy and industry that simply cannot be electrified, but continue to require a combustion process: long-distance transportation (shipping, air transport, trucks), the production of steel, metals and cement, the heating of certain buildings (some old buildings, for example) and many processes from the chemical industry. So what is needed is a material that burns "cleanly", without leaving any residues that are harmful to the climate. The only realistic candidate for this is hydrogen (H2), which burns to form ordinary water. H2 is also an excellent intermediate storage for electrical energy, for example from wind power, when more is being produced than is currently needed. A modern world without human CO2 emissions cannot be achieved without the massive use of hydrogen.
„If we are involved early in the planning process of H2 plants, we can reduce investment costs and increase their profitability.“
Enormous needs, enormous market
Hydrogen is already being produced on a significant scale today. However, most of it is anything but climate-neutral. However, not only is it necessary to de-carbonize the current production of hydrogen, but also to massively expand the production of so-called green hydrogen from exclusively renewable energies. Experts estimate the demand for green hydrogen at 55 terawatt hours for 2025. For 2030, however, the demand will double to 90 to 110 terawatt hours. By 2050, we could have reached 380 terawatt hours. The big leaps are happening right now: governments and private investors are investing huge sums in the construction of green hydrogen plants and the infrastructure surrounding them. The European Union alone will support the H2 economy to the tune of about 500 billion euros by 2030, and another 500 billion from 2030 to 2050. BofA Securities, the investment branch of Bank of America, estimates that the hydrogen economy can expect direct revenues of a staggering $2.5 trillion by 2050.
40 percent
of CO2 emissions can only be prevented with green hydrogen.
100 percent
increase in demand for H2 by 2030.
2.5 Trillion
US dollar revenue by 2050 – that's what the hydrogen economy is counting on.
„Optimally designed on-load-tap-changer significantly reduces the power quality solution requirements and increases the overall service life of the H2 system.“
Technical progress now!
However, the rapid expansion of H2 production is not only a financial temptation, but also a major challenge for plant operators and their suppliers. The expansion can only succeed on a broad scale if the production costs for green hydrogen fall. And there are many starting points for this. One of the most important of these is to optimally switch the input voltage at the transformer before the electrolyzer. This is because both photovoltaic and wind turbines produce constantly fluctuating input electrical power. The higher operation range of the electrolyzer results in higher operational losses and a larger power quality solution requirement. A vacuum on-load load tap changer upstream of the electrolyzer optimally regulates the input voltages so that the hydrogen plant remains efficient longer over time and has a longer service life overall. This alone significantly increases profitability and production volume per plant. In addition, the vacuum on-load tap-changer takes so much stress out of the overall system that fewer countermeasures are needed in power quality management overall, such as harmonic filters and reactive power compensation systems. It is precisely such technical tricks that will bring us rapidly closer to our goal by 2030: more hydrogen!
Vacuum on-load tap-changers increase the service life and performance of an electrolyzer.
Vacuum on-load tap-changers increase the service life and performance of an electrolyzer.
Increase H2 production with products from MR and PQ
MR helps you get the most out of your H2 production by increasing the performance and lifetime of your electrolysers. With expert advice from the conception phase onwards, we achieve the most together. The associated, coordinated products are:
On-load-tap-changer
Passive Harmonic Filter Systems
Passive Reactive Power Compensation Systems
Active Harmonic Filter
Static Synchronous Compensator - STATCOM
