Berlin The Australian entrepreneur Andrew Forrest wants to enter the production of green hydrogen on a large industrial scale in the short term. German companies could be among the first buyers as early as 2023. “Our goal is to be able to deliver at least 15 million tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030. We have been working on this project for years and are expected to start production in 2023 and increase it continuously in the following years, ”Forrest told Handelsblatt.
To put it into perspective: With his project, Forrest would exceed the goals of the German hydrogen strategy by a factor of 30. The goal of the hydrogen strategy is to build up capacities by 2030 that will enable the annual production of 0.5 million tons of green hydrogen in Germany. For this purpose, an electrolysis capacity of up to five gigawatts (GW) is to be installed.
Forrest thinks in other dimensions. His credo is consistent scaling and process optimization. “We will industrialize green hydrogen. This applies to the entire process chain, ”said Forrest. This is “the decisive factor for a massive cost reduction”.
Observers from politics, business and science take the Australian’s project very seriously. “Mr. Forrest has a cool strategic view of what the world will need in the future: gigantic amounts of hydrogen,” said Holger Lösch, Deputy General Manager of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the Handelsblatt. “He wants to become a major player on the world market as quickly as possible.” The Australian wants to achieve his goal through massive scaling. “If he proves that there is huge potential for economies of scale, everyone is helped,” said Lösch.
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Lösch knows Forrest through the German-Australian cooperation project “Hysupply”. The project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and coordinated on the German side by the BDI and the Academy for Technical Sciences (acatech), aims to explore the potential of a German-Australian hydrogen partnership.
Approval from science
There is also approval from science. “We need projects on this scale. There is no question that tens of millions of tons of green hydrogen are needed in Germany to decarbonise industry, ”said Robert Schlögl, director at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin, the Handelsblatt.
Schögl said; “With the in-house production of 0.5 million tonnes, which are targeted in the National Hydrogen Strategy for 2030, we will not get very far. You have to take a completely different approach, ”he said.
Forrest’s concept is therefore “absolutely the right approach”. The internationally renowned chemist is a member of the National Hydrogen Council. The federal government set up the expert committee last year.
Forrest has presented his project to German government officials who have not yet officially commented on his plans. However, the federal government repeatedly emphasizes that Germany will obtain a large part of its future green hydrogen requirements from abroad. The federal government therefore expressly supports hydrogen partnerships with countries such as Australia.
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Forrest has already explained his plans to several companies in Germany. You could be one of the first buyers. In Forrest’s current project presentation, which the Handelsblatt has viewed, the names of several DAX companies and other large companies can be found under the heading “Potential German Customers”.
Companies from industries such as steel or chemistry are desperately looking for ways to procure climate-neutral hydrogen. For steel manufacturers or chemical companies, climate-neutral hydrogen is the only way to decarbonise CO2-intensive processes and take a decisive step closer to the goal of climate neutrality.
Criticism of the German approach
Among the different variants of climate-neutral hydrogen, the federal government favors green hydrogen, which is produced using electricity from renewable sources through electrolysis. Other variants, such as blue hydrogen, are controversial. Blue hydrogen is produced on the basis of natural gas by means of steam reforming, the released CO2 is stored underground. Forrest relies exclusively on green hydrogen in its major project.
Some companies are already facing fundamental investment decisions today or within the next two or three years. Investments in conventional processes – for example in the classic blast furnace route with the use of coking coal – are no longer an option because of the drastically increasing climate protection requirements. But for new, climate-friendly processes, they need climate-neutral hydrogen – which is currently not available in significant quantities.
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Schlögl is convinced that the time factor speaks in favor of Forrest’s ambitious project. “We need green hydrogen now – and not in five or ten years.” Forrest promises to be able to supply green hydrogen in relevant quantities as early as 2023. “That makes his project particularly interesting,” said Schlögl.
Schlögl combines this reference with a fundamental criticism of the German approach: “In Germany, things are progressing far too slowly. Germany threatens to oversleep things. A look at our Dutch neighbor proves this. The port of Rotterdam wants to become a hub for hydrogen. Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel could also take on this role, but unfortunately far too little is happening. ”Rotterdam as a logistics hub also plays a role in Forrest’s considerations.
Making hydrogen production more efficient
Forrest is virtually unknown in Europe. In contrast, he is highly regarded in his home country and is in close contact with the Australian government. Forrest has his fortune with Fortescue made.
The company mines iron ore and, according to its own information, is number four in the industry worldwide. The multi-billionaire, who repeatedly ranks one of the top five in various rankings of the richest Australians, has donated a large part of his fortune to a charitable foundation.
Forrest’s goal is to make green hydrogen a globally traded product.
(Photo: Reuters)
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Forrest is convinced that the processes for producing green hydrogen can be made much more efficient. This applies to the electrolysers, for example. “The production of electrolysers must come out of the garage scale.”
Forrest said his company will place large orders for electrolysers on condition that manufacturers switch to robotic, automated production on an industrial scale. German companies like Siemens Energy, Thyssen-Krupp, MAN or Linde are among the world’s leading manufacturers of electrolysers.
Forrest can contribute the most important production factor for hydrogen electrolysis at low cost: electricity from renewable sources. His company, Fortescue, owns tens of thousands of square kilometers of land in Australia that is suitable for the installation of photovoltaic systems and wind turbines.
The Australian’s goal is to install wind turbines and photovoltaic systems with an output of around 150 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. To put it into perspective: In Germany, wind turbines with 55 GW output and photovoltaic systems with 54 GW output are currently installed.
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From Forrest’s point of view, the costs of transporting hydrogen from Australia to Europe are not an obstacle. Scientist Schlögl agrees: “The transport from Australia to Germany is not the problem. What causes the costs is the conversion of the hydrogen into a transportable state. ”The pure transport from A to B, on the other hand, does not have a significant impact. “In this respect it makes no significant difference whether you bring the hydrogen from Australia to Rotterdam or from Australia to Japan,” said Schlögl.
The “champagne of the energy transition” is to become table water
Forrest’s goal is to make green hydrogen a globally traded product. So far, green hydrogen has only been available in homeopathic doses at high prices, which is why it is repeatedly referred to as the “champagne of the energy revolution”. The Australian now wants to turn the champagne into table water as quickly as possible.
Forrest said: “We are in the process of establishing a trading platform for green hydrogen. This will bring transparency to pricing and give smaller companies access to the green hydrogen market. It must not be the case that only those companies that can afford to order large quantities get access to green hydrogen. “
In the end, green hydrogen will completely displace oil, coal and natural gas, Forrest is convinced: “Whether this happens quickly or slowly depends on the will of governments to remove subsidies for oil and gas or to offset them for green hydrogen. The playing field has to be leveled. ”Forrest himself doesn’t want to wait until this condition is met.
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