Climate-friendly green hydrogen can be produced using renewable energies. One producer, Denmark, is now expanding its infrastructure to bring it to the rest of Europe. We show you a bus project in Frankfurt, Germany, where it’s already in use.
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00:00They may look like regular buses, but these run on hydrogen.
00:04In Frankfurt am Main, Hadi J. Barak drives one of 23 buses powered by this alternative
00:10fuel.
00:11On a single tank, just like with diesel, she can cover 400 kilometers – enough to last
00:16an entire day.
00:17First, it's definitely environmentally friendly.
00:22Second, it's very quiet compared to diesel.
00:25Plus, it drives really well and is very comfortable.
00:28I just think it's great.
00:33Have any passengers ever commented?
00:35Yes, a few.
00:36They didn't even realize the bus was running.
00:38The engine is so quiet.
00:40Some even asked me, are you going to start the bus?
00:42And I told them, it's already running.
00:49At the Inde City bus depot, the Danish company Eberfuel has installed a hydrogen filling
00:54station.
00:55Currently, the hydrogen used is grey, coming from industrial waste from a nearby factory.
01:01However, in the future, the plan is to switch to green hydrogen.
01:07Hydrogen is an interesting option for us, at least as a transitional technology.
01:12It offers longer ranges than battery-powered vehicles can currently provide.
01:17We'll see how that develops.
01:19Plus, it doesn't require the extensive charging infrastructure that batteries need.
01:28The high-synergy facility is located in Fredericia, Denmark, near a large refinery.
01:34This is where the green hydrogen for Frankfurt will come from.
01:38Final preparations are underway.
01:40Starting in 2025, the facility will produce enough hydrogen to generate 300 megawatts
01:46of energy, with plans to scale up further.
01:49They estimate the energy required for 1 kilogram of hydrogen to be between 45 and 65 kilowatt
01:55hours, with most of it coming from renewable sources.
01:59We are responding to the European request to really make a green transition rapidly.
02:06One of the key ingredients in the Repower EU European strategy are to use renewable-produced
02:12hydrogen for transport and for industry.
02:17Some industrial plants, like the nearby refinery, can be supplied directly by Everfuel.
02:23For other customers, like the bus station in Frankfurt, hydrogen still needs to be delivered
02:28by truck.
02:29However, under the Repower EU strategy, this will change.
02:33In the coming years, the EU and 33 energy infrastructure operators plan to repurpose
02:39sections of existing natural gas pipelines and build new connections overland and underwater.
02:46This will primarily supply central and southern Europe with renewable energy from northern
02:51Europe.
02:52Denmark and Norway have a lot of hydropower, among other resources.
03:00These can be directly harnessed to support the hydrogen infrastructure.
03:07They're energy-producing countries.
03:09Germany doesn't have that.
03:11So our approach is different.
03:17In Fredericia, some final permits are still pending and a few more hurdles remain.
03:25Our ambition and strategy are in place on the business level.
03:28But the challenges are, production of green hydrogen is more expensive than production
03:32of grey hydrogen.
03:33So the subsidy schemes and the certificate schemes that need to be in place to make it
03:39attractive for my customers to buy green hydrogen.
03:44In Frankfurt, they're also eagerly awaiting the start of green hydrogen production in
03:49Denmark.
03:52Hydrogen would be the icing on the cake for vehicles already running on alternative fuels.
03:56For electric vehicles, the electricity also has to be green.
03:59And the same should apply to hydrogen.
04:02That's when it really contributes to the energy transition.
04:07Only in Frankfurt, but across Europe, cities are waiting in anticipation.
04:12They hope large-scale green hydrogen production will begin soon, helping cities like Frankfurt
04:17to go truly green.