The National Hydrogen Council has significantly increased its forecast for future hydrogen demand in Germany. The expert committee that advises the federal government on hydrogen issues now assumes a total demand of between 94 and 124 terawatt hours (TWh) for 2030. For comparison: Around 55 TWh of hydrogen are currently consumed annually in Germany. An initial forecast by the NWR presented in February 2023 assumed a maximum requirement of 93 terawatt hours.
The new estimate by the NWR is in the same order of magnitude as the update of the Federal Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy for 2030 presented in July 2023, namely 95 to 130 terawatt hours. The hydrogen should come primarily from abroad, but also from within the country.
High hydrogen demand in the steel industry
The new NWR forecast assumes a demand of at least 28 terawatt hours for the steel industry alone in 2030. Hydrogen produced in a largely climate-neutral manner is intended to replace hard coal in steel production and thus help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The NWR now assumes a demand of 22 TWh for heavy goods traffic and at least 21 TWh for the chemical industry.
“If we don’t want to remain at the bottom of the list in terms of economic growth in industrialized countries, we must finally make progress in ramping up the hydrogen economy,” explained NWR member Uwe Lauber. “If we fail here in Germany, we will also fail in our climate protection goals,” said Lauber, who is also CEO of the engine and turbine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions.
The Hydrogen Council includes 26 experts from business, science and civil society. The chairwoman is the head of the energy service provider Westenergie, which is part of the energy group Eon, Katherina Reiche.