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Germany is seeking to promote energy economic transformation and decarbonization of energy intensive industries by importing renewable hydrogen.According to a recent study,hydrogen can be transported in the form of iron,providing a new option for Germany’s energy strategy.
Hydrogen is seen as the key to achieving a climate neutral energy economy,aimed at replacing fossil fuels such as coal,natural gas,and oil.At present,the federal government plans to produce hydrogen domestically using renewable electricity and import it through pipelines or ships.However,transporting hydrogen by ship typically requires combining it with other substances such as ammonia or methanol to increase its stability.
Now,a study commissioned by the Climate Neutrality Foundation(SKN)proposes another option:transporting hydrogen in the form of iron.Countries with iron ore reserves can obtain pure iron through direct reduction and then transport it to Germany.In Germany,pure iron can be re oxidized by adding water,heat,and catalyst,releasing hydrogen gas.This process is not only safer than transporting corrosive substances such as ammonia,but also iron,as an energy storage device,can be stored relatively easily and inexpensively,and used to generate large amounts of climate neutral hydrogen gas as needed.
To verify the feasibility of this concept,German Namibian company Hy Iron is launching a pilot project in Namibia.The project will utilize a large-scale ground-based photovoltaic system as energy,directly reducing iron and transporting it to Germany.SKN director Rainer Baake stated that this process makes hydrogen power generation cheaper than German electrolysis or transporting hydrogen in the form of ammonia.
Baake emphasized that green iron,as an innovative energy storage method,is not only suitable for power plants far away from hydrogen pipelines,but also can provide sustainable energy solutions for the industrial sector.Therefore,he suggested that politicians consider the use of pig iron when designing the Power Plant Safety Law to promote the widespread application of this innovative technology.
With the increasing global demand for sustainable energy solutions,Germany’s exploration undoubtedly brings new opportunities and challenges to the field of renewable energy.