Switzerland rather unsuitable for hydrogen production according to study
Published: Monday, Aug 19th 2024, 11:10
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Switzerland is rather unsuitable for large-scale hydrogen production. As a study by researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in the journal "Nature Communications" shows, Canada offers the best conditions for hydrogen production.
Hydrogen is seen as the energy source of the future. According to a press release issued by the PSI on Monday, hydrogen is set to replace fossil fuels in energy-intensive applications such as aviation, the steel industry and the production of fertilizers.
According to the researchers' calculations, hydrogen demand in 2050 will be between 111 and 614 megatons per year, depending on the scenario. Currently, around 90 megatons of hydrogen are produced worldwide every year.
There are various methods for producing hydrogen. In the future, so-called PEM electrolysers will increasingly be used, which use electricity and a polymer electrolyte membrane to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. If only green electricity from renewable sources is used, the process will run without fossil fuels.
Hardly any free space in Switzerland
However, the researchers' main question was where in the world hydrogen could be produced most cheaply in this way. Two factors turned out to be decisive: Where can the enormous demand for green electricity be met most efficiently and where is there enough suitable land to set up the plants required for production?
Large parts of Canada met these criteria best. According to the PSI, there are many open areas there that would be suitable for wind turbines.
Central European industrialized countries, such as Switzerland or Germany, are therefore less suitable for production because there is hardly any available space for wind turbines and solar radiation is relatively low.
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