News

What should decision-makers know about green hydrogen?

There’s been a great deal of discussion about the potential of green hydrogen to solve the global sustainability crisis. How can it help make the world a better place, and how can Finland encourage its development and uptake? We’ve compiled a concise information package on green hydrogen for decision-makers.
Vihreitä lehtiä ajelehtii vedessä (kuvituskuva)
Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced from water using renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. Photo: Adolfo Vera / Aalto University

1. Green hydrogen is a huge investment opportunity for Finland

The EU has a set target of meeting one-fifth of Member States’ energy needs with green or low-carbon hydrogen by the year 2050. Finland is in a strong position in this regard because it has abundant water resources and significant wind power potential that could be used to cleanly produce hydrogen.

A total of 23 green hydrogen projects with an estimated combined value of EUR 10 billion are already being planned in Finland. In fact, the country aims to supply 10% of the green hydrogen used in the EU.

Green hydrogen might be one key to solving the sustainability crisis, because it could enable emissions-free transport and carbon-free steel production. However, decisions and investments are needed to support research and development in the renewable energy generation and storage before the hydrogen revolution becomes a reality.

2. Green hydrogen requires huge amounts of affordable renewable energy

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced from water using renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. This means that it needs affordable and plentiful renewable energy. Onshore wind power is already the most cost-effective form of electricity generation in Finland, and it currently supplies more than 10% of electricity consumption in the country. That figure is expected to exceed 50% by 2050, partially with a boost from green hydrogen production.

In climate terms, hydrogen is an ideal fuel because water vapour is the only by-product it produces when burned for energy. Hydrogen is needed to refine oil and produce fertilisers. So far, most hydrogen has been produced from natural gas. This process (known as grey hydrogen production) releases as much carbon into the atmosphere as the combined annual emissions of the United Kingdom and Indonesia. Changing how hydrogen is produced is therefore vital for solving the sustainability crisis.

3. To realise the hydrogen revolution, we need to ensure the supply of precious metals

Green hydrogen production requires an electrolyser, a device in which catalysts help electrical energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Traditionally, platinum and precious metals have been used as catalysts. However, these metals are in increasingly short supply and could thus become extremely expensive. Furthermore, they are mostly produced in countries that may be unreliable suppliers to Europe and under conditions that could involve ethical problems.

A steady supply of precious metals must be ensured before hydrogen can offer a reliable solution to global energy challenges. Aalto’s Professor Tanja Kallio and her team are developing new methods to reduce the need for precious metals in green hydrogen production, as well as trying to make them last longer and replace them with more common materials.

4. Green hydrogen would dramatically reduce Finland’s emissions

Green hydrogen can help reduce emissions from modes of transport that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy road transport and maritime transport. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel itself or it can be combined with carbon dioxide to produce electrofuels, such as methane (an alternative to natural gas).

Green hydrogen will also play a key role in reducing emissions from the steel industry. Fossil-free steel can be produced by using green hydrogen as a replacement for coke, a derivative of coal traditionally used in iron ore reduction. The impact would be enormous: if the Raahe steel mill switched to green hydrogen, Finland’s carbon dioxide emissions would fall by seven percent. The steel mill planned for Inkoo, which is estimated to cost EUR 4 billion, is expected to use green hydrogen to produce fossil-free steel.

In addition to introducing new technologies and investing in renewable energy, we also need to learn how to live with less.

5. New technologies can only become real with investments in research and education

The past two decades have seen enormous progress in the field of hydrogen technology solutions. Antti Arasto, Vice President of Industrial Energy and Hydrogen at VTT, emphasises that the development of new technologies is the result of long and complex processes. “The chain from basic research to applied research, product development and investments in companies, and then to a shift in the whole world’s infrastructure, is tremendously long. The hydrogen revolution is a shining example of the fact that the whole pipeline needs to be invested in and that education really is worth the investment,” Arasto explains.

Alongside green hydrogen, universities are also working on other new technologies, such as fusion energy. It’s essential that we don’t put all our eggs in one basket when it comes to solutions to global energy problems, because no single solution could work everywhere.

Read more about green hydrogen and the energy transition

Kuvituskuva

The world’s lightest revolution

Green hydrogen promises to turn Europe into an energy heavyweight, make traffic emission-free and replace carbon in steel manufacturing. But can it actually deliver – and how?

News

Bridging the gap between science and decision making

Our experts break down what decision-makers should know about current societal trends.

X-ray of hand with fingers making OK sign

AI is transforming healthcare: 5 things to know

Regulation, validation and trust are key when AI is used in medical services, say FCAI and Aalto University experts.

News
Kuvituskuva pörssikursseista

Five things decision-makers should know about ownership in Finland

How does ownership in Finland hold up against that of Sweden, Denmark and Norway? The world’s first professor of ownership – Samuli Knüpfer – lists the challenges and tells why a solution is urgently needed

News
Metals

Five things decision-makers should know about the electrification of society

Electrification plays a key role in solving the climate crisis. Aalto University researchers describe what kind of challenges this entails and how they can be tackled.

News
  • Published:
  • Updated:

Read more news

image
Research & Art Published:

Boendets pris - ett finskt perspektiv

Gästföreläsning för jagvillhabostad.nu i samarbete med institutionen för urbana studier, Malmö universitet
Läppäri. Kuva: Kalle Kataila
Research & Art Published:

The dissertation encourages the integration of analytics into the company’s strategy

The management of analytics and the development of employees' analytical skills are needed to maximize the benefits derived from analytics
The key research device at the ARotor laboratory in Otaniemi is a measurement and grinding machine with a paper machine roll.
Research & Art Published:

'It is just not possible' pushes mechanical engineering researchers towards more ambitious goals

Long-term cooperation and work in Valmet’s Veturi projects produce results for the needs of heavy industry.
Milani CubeSat. In the Hera mission, Milani is one of two CubeSats that will be deployed to study the asteroid system of Didymos and Dimorphos. Image credit: Tyvak International
Research & Art Published:

Finnish technology going into outer space – aims to help protecting Earth from asteroid impacts

A hyperspectral camera ASPECT developed by VTT is on board the European Space Agency (ESA) space mission to test deflection technology of potentially hazardous asteroids. The University of Helsinki and Aalto University are responsible for data processing, equipment testing, and the scientific design of the mission. Kuva Space has designed the data processing unit of the hyperspectral camera, as well as life-support equipment for both of the CubeSats.