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Hydrogen storage - the path to energy security

15.04.2012

According to Siemens experts, huge hydrogen storage facilities are the only way to ensure Germany's energy security and switch to large-scale use of solar and wind power plants.

If Germany wants to realize its ambitious plans of getting a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and up to 80% by 2050, it will have to find a way to store huge amounts of electricity. Otherwise, it will be impossible to compensate for the unstable output of energy from renewable sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines. Siemens believes that today there is only one suitable technology for this: water electrolysis and the production of hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen can be converted into electricity in gas-fired power plants, and it can also be used to fuel cars and even airplanes.

Today, hydrogen production is inefficient: two-thirds of the energy is wasted during the electrolysis and subsequent combustion of hydrogen. However, there is no other acceptable way to fulfill Germany's large-scale plans, and Siemens offers its own concept of hydrogen energy. Unlike conventional industrial electrolysers, which need a sustainable power supply, the new Siemens system can handle fluctuating power from windmills and solar panels. It is based on a proton exchange membrane similar to the one used today in automotive fuel cells. The Siemens electrolyzer can handle power fluctuations of 2-3 times and is ideal for windmill power surges on particularly windy days.

The latter is especially relevant, because due to the insufficient capacity of power lines, Germany loses about 20% of the energy generated by windmills. Now there is simply nowhere to store this energy. The most affordable way to save electricity is to pump water to a great height, and then lower it, setting turbine generators in motion. However, this method is suitable only for mountainous areas and therefore in flat Germany only about 40 gigawatt-hours are "pumped" with its help. This is how many windmills and solar panels can generate in one hour of a windy and sunny day.

Modern batteries are expensive and bulky, so they cannot solve the problem of storing the gigantic amount of energy Germany needs at night or on a calm day.

Siemens calculates that if Germany is to be 85% renewable, it will need to store 30000 gigawatt-hours of energy. Siemens claims that its electrolyzers will be able to convert this energy into hydrogen with an efficiency of about 60%. From the resulting amount of energy, another 40% should be taken away for losses during the reverse conversion of hydrogen into electricity. Thus, only a third of the "free" energy of windmills and solar panels will be lost. The hydrogen needed to power power plants can be stored in underground caverns and transported through existing gas pipelines or special pipes.

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