HYDROGEN AS A POTENTIAL ACCELERATOR OF EUROPEAN UNION DECARBONIZATION

Abstract

In recent decades, the European Union has elaborated strategies and implemented directives to reduce the impact member states have on the environment and limit the effects of global warming. The actions aimed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, increase the presence of renewable energy technologies in the energy generation mix and increase energy efficiency. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, the focus was on incentivizing the use of renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, and even biofuels. Hydrogen is mainly used to produce chemical products like plastic and fertilizers and implies the production of large amounts of  emissions. Renewable hydrogen, however, is obtained through the electrolysis process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The use of this type of hydrogen, combined with sourcing the electricity used in the electrolysis process from renewable energy sources and the fact that hydrogen can be stored can help decarbonize the EU. This paper tries to better understand the types of existing hydrogen, the rationale for which hydrogen is not more present as an energy carrier and highlights the potential benefits and existing downsides of hydrogen from economical, logistical, and environmental points of view.