Scotland could become major exporter of hydrogen, new report reveals

Scotland could satisfy all of Germany’s hydrogen import volume by 2045, a new report has revealed. 

Research by the UK Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) and German consultants Cruh21 has outlined how to maximise green hydrogen collaboration between both nations.

The report showed that Scottish hydrogen exports could meet at least 22 per cent and up to 100 per cent of Germany’s hydrogen demand by 2045.

Energy secretary Màiri McAllan said: “Scotland is strongly positioned to become a major exporter of hydrogen to Northern Europe and the UK – contributing to our climate objectives and to green economic property for our nation.

The ‘Enabling Green Hydrogen Exports: Matching Scottish Production to German Demand’ report showcased supply and demand pathways and explored multi-sector end use, the technologies, infrastructure, and legislation required for the safe distribution of hydrogen. 

She added: “Green hydrogen that is created with renewable electricity will help to reduce our emissions for hard-to-decarbonise sectors in Scotland and could also be a great export opportunity to the rest of the UK and to our European neighbours. We are determined to realise this opportunity and will shortly be publishing an export plan for this end.”

The Scottish Government aims to produce 25GW of renewable hydrogen by 2045 –  when both Scotland and Germany expect to reach net zero. 

However, it recently scrapped its flagship 2030 target to reduce emissions by 75 per cent. 

The report identified two critical stages to build the supply chain. Until 2030, plans should focus on early production and end-use activities, before installing a hydrogen pipeline. Then, until 2045, plans should focus on commissioning and ramping up the pipeline infrastructure. 

Meryem Maghrebi, consultant at Cruh21 said: “This report provides a holistic overview and stresses the necessity of developing a synchronised hydrogen and derivatives infrastructure, encompassing export terminals and pipeline networks, to bolster the hydrogen supply chain between Scotland and Germany. The critical factors to accelerate collaboration between Scotland and Germany lie in mapping supply and demand development and the establishment of pan-North Sea transport infrastructure. The cooperation with NZTC is a first step towards this goal.”

This latest report builds on the NZTC’s Hydrogen Backbone Link report, which evaluates the reuse versus the new build of a dedicated hydrogen pipeline.