The development of a hydrogen market, and particularly green hydrogen, is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in industry and transport, the newly appointed head of hydrogen at German utility RWE tells Hydrogen Economist.

“The decarbonisation of industry and parts of transport such as aviation or heavy-duty traffic will not work without hydrogen,” says Sopna Sury, RWE’s chief operating officer for hydrogen, a board-level position, since February. “This means that a whole new value chain with huge growth potential is about to emerge around hydrogen, and RWE is determined to play an important part in this,” she says.

“The decarbonisation of industry and parts of transport such as aviation or heavy-duty traffic will not work without hydrogen” Sury, RWE

RWE is already one of the major players in Europe’s nascent hydrogen market, being involved in more than 30 projects in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands.

The former E.On director and McKinsey consultant says that the utility’s strategy is to be involved in projects across the hydrogen value chain before deciding where it fits best. From green hydrogen project AquaVentus in the North Sea to importing hydrogen into the planned Brunsbuettel LNG terminal in Germany, RWE is gaining insights into all aspects of the developing hydrogen market.

“It is not clear yet which area will be the most economically viable for us in the long run. What is clear for us [is that] we want to be at the right place in the right time,” Sury says.

Her team’s focus so far has been on procuring subsidies in order to shoulder some of the costs of RWE’s initial hydrogen investments, which she calls “exorbitant”. In the long run, Sury says, only green hydrogen will be worth pursuing as a sustainable source of energy, while other types will be important in the first stages of decarbonising industry.

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Author: Karolin Schaps