德国氢能赛道

Germany’s

greathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossil

fuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disasterMarch202

3w

w

w.

corporateeurope.

orgAuthor:PiaEberhardtEditedby:Ann

DohertyCoordinatedby:Belén

BalanyáDesignandgraphicsby:GerardCasadevallBachThanksto:AndyGheorghiu,Lasse

Thiele,JennySimon,KatharineAingerandallinterviewpartnersforvaluableinsightsand

comments.Published

by:CorporateEurope

ObservatoryMarch2023,

BrusselsContents

of

this

report

may

be

quoted

orreproducedfornoncommercialpurpose,providedthatthesourceofinformationis

acknowledged.CorporateEuropeObservatory(CEO)isaresearchandcampaigngroupworkingtoexposeandchallengethedisproportionateinfluencethatcorporationsandtheirlobbyists

exert

over

EU

policy-making.

CEOworksinclosealliancewithpublicinterestgroupsandsocialmovementsinandoutsideofEuropetodevelopalternatives

tothedominanceofcorporate

power.3Germany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disasterExecutive

summaryForyears,Germanyhashypedhydrogenasthecentrepieceofaclimate-neutraleconomyand

the

EU

has

welcomed

this

alleged

‘miracle

gas’

with

open

arms.

Germany's

influentialroleinsettingtheEU'sagendahascontributedtohydrogenbeingnowatthecoreofEUclimateandindustrialpolicies,andBrusselsplanstospendbillionsinpublicsubsidiestospurEurope’shydrogen

sector.This

hype

ignores

several

dirty

facts.

First,

99

per

cent

of

today’s

globally

produced

hydro-gen

is

‘grey’

hydrogen

made

from

fossil

fuels,

with

annual

CO2

emissions

exceeding

thoseoftheentirecountryofGermany.Second,fossil-based‘blue’hydrogen,whichisbeingpromotedasa‘low-carbon’alternative,hasaclimatefootprintthatisnearlyasbadwhenitstotalemissionsaretakenintoaccount.Finally,even‘green’hydrogen,whichisconsid-ered‘carbonfree’butaccountedforonly0.04percentofglobalhydrogenproductionin2021,comes

with

serious

challenges

and

risks.

It

is

energy

inefficient,

behaves

as

a

potentindirectgreenhousegas,andproductiononalargescalerequiresvastamountsofland,waterandrenewableenergy.Itsproductioncanfuel‘greengrabbing’–theappropriationoflandandresourcesforenvironmentalends.Aninflateddemandforhydrogenisalsobeing

used

as

a

Trojan

horse

to

prolong

the

use

of

fossil

fuels.More

and

more

expertsarethus

warning

that

an

energy

economy

focused

on

hydrogenwillactuallyincreaseemissions.TheGermanAdvisoryCouncilontheEnvironment,forexample,

an

expert

advisory

body

of

the

German

government,

has

stated

that

hydrogen“cannot

play

an

overarching

role”

in

solving

the

climate

crisis.WhythendoeshydrogenenjoysuchaprivilegedpositioninGermanandEUpoliticstoday?

Who

is

driving

the

German

hydrogencraze,and

who

is

benefitting

from

it?

Andwhat

are

the

likely

impacts

for

prospective

green

hydrogen

export

countries?

These

arethe

questions

addressed

in

this

report.Carlos

ArdanaGermany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disaster4Key

findingsBehind

Germany’s

hydrogen

dash

lies

a

broad

network

of

companies,

industryassociations

and

consultancies.

More

than

100

German

businesses

have

been

identi-fied

as

key

players

along

the

value

chainfor

green

hydrogen.Many

of

them

are

from

orhavetiestothefossilfuelandotherpollutingindustries,andtheyarejumpingonthehydrogenbandwagontolockinharmfulinfrastructureaswellasproductionandcon-sumption

models.Germany’s

hydrogen

lobby

employs

hundreds

of

lobbyists

and

spends

millionsoninfluencingGermanpolitics.ChemicalgiantBASF,forexample,alargeuserandproduceroffossilhydrogen,hadalobbybudgetof€3.8millionin2021andcurrentlyemploys24lobbyists.Germany’slargestenergylobbygroupBDEW,whosemembercompaniesareresponsiblefor90percentoffossilgassalesinGermanyandwhoarebettingonhydrogentostayinbusiness,has51lobbyistsandalobbybudgetof€7.1million

in

2021.

Such

lobby

power

allows

the

hydrogen

industry

to

follow

andinfluencecomplex

regulatory

processes

and

to

secure

lobby

meetings

with

key

decision

makers.LikepastGermangovernments,thecurrentcoalitionofSocialDemocrats,Greens

and

Liberals

grants

privileged

access

to

the

gas

lobby,

a

drivingforce

behindthe

hydrogen

hype.

From

December

2021to

September

2022,

high-ranking

governmentofficialsmetwithgaslobbyistsonaverageonceaday.Thesemeetingsincludedseveralbehind-closed-door

conversationsabout

hydrogen

with

lobbyists

from

fossil

fuel

majorslikeRWE,EquinorandWintershallDeaaswellasengineeringgiantslikeSiemensEnergy(whichmanufacturesgaspipelinecomponentsandelectrolyserplantstoproducegreenhydrogen)andMANEnergySolutions(asubsidiaryofcarbehemothVolkswagen,whichproduceselectrolysercomponentsandenginesfortheautomobilesandshipsthat

it

plans

to

fuel

with

hydrogen).Thehydrogenlobbyhasco-draftedtheGermanH2Globalpublicfundingscheme.ThisschemearosefromtheBusinessAllianceforEnergy,anindustry-onlyfo-rumcreatedbytheGermanMinistryforEconomicDevelopmentandCooperationthatpavesthewayfortheearlyinvolvementofindustryintheMinistry’shydrogenstrategy.TheHydrogenandFuel-CellAssociation(DWV),aninfluentiallobbygroupinthehydro-gensector,seemstohaveplayedakeyroleindraftingtheconceptforH2Global.TheGerman

government

has

allocated

more

than

€4

billion

(following

an

initial

endowmentof

€900

million)

to

the

funding

scheme

to

spur

green

hydrogen

exports

toGermany.The

German

government’s

main

hydrogen

advisory

body,

the

National

HydrogenCouncil,

is

dominated

by

corporate

lobbyists

who

steer

Germany’s

hydrogen

policy

intheinterestoftheirprofits.These25expertsincluderepresentativesfrom15companiesfromacrossthehydrogensupplychain:gascompanyLinde,gridoperatorOpenGridEurope,carmanufacturerDaimlerTruck,chemicalsproducerCovestro,andsoon.ThetwoenvironmentalNGOsontheCouncilcanalwaysbeoverruled,andglobaljusticegroupsarecompletelyabsentfromthebodydespiteGermany’sdependenceonhydro-gen

imports.Germany’srecentshifttobluehydrogenhasbeenoneofthelobby’sbiggestwins.

Unlike

Germany’s

2020

hydrogen

strategy,

theupdated

version

(which

was

beingfinalised

at

the

time

of

writing),

explicitly

foresees

the

useand

public

funding

of

fos-sil-derivedbluehydrogen.Projectstoimportbluehydrogenanditsderivativesarealreadyin

the

planning,

for

example

with

both

Norway

and

the

United

Arab

Emirates.Germany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disaster5Asitscarbonbalancecanbeworsethanthe‘traditional’burning

ofcoal,oilandgas,thescalingupofbluehydrogenrisksdrivingupemissions.Someexpertswarnthatinvest-mentsinbluehydrogenareworsethaninactiononclimatechange,notleastbecausethey

lock

in

the

fossil

fueleconomy.Germanyhasestablishedhydrogenalliancesandpartnershipswithatleast26potentialexportcountries,manyofthemintheGlobalSouth.Berlinplanstocovertwo-thirdsofitsfuturegreenhydrogendemandwithimportsandissettobecomeEurope’sbiggestimporterofthegas,withanestimated60to70percentshareofthefutureEU/UKimportdemand.Germancorporationsarekeenparticipantsinthisglobalquest,andaccom-panyministerswhenevertheygoonhydrogen

missions.German-backedgreenhydrogenprojectsabroadfollowcolonialpatterns.Resourcesareappropriatedwhilenegativeimpactslikeecologicaldamageandenergyscarcityarecon-venientlyoutsourced.Conflictsoverlandandwaterusearealreadybecomingapparentandcouldintensifyoverthenextyears.Therearealsoconcernsaboutthelivelihoodsoffishingcommunitiesasaresultofmegaportsandotherexportinfrastructure,aswellaspollutionfromthewasteofthedesalinationplantsthatareneededtoobtainwaterforgreenhydro-genproductioninarid

regions.Ashockingexampleofhumanrightsviolationsconnectedwithgreenhydrogenprojects

is

Saudi

Arabia’s

planned

megacity

Neom,

where

Thyssenkrupp

will

install

a

hugeelectrolysertoproducehydrogenforexport.AncienttribeshavebeenforciblyevictedfromtheirlandtomakewayforNeom.Severalprotestorshavebeensentencedtodeathbecauseoftheirresistancetotheeviction,andoneofthemwasshotdeadbysecurityforcesinApril2020.Nonetheless,the2021German-SaudiArabiahydrogencooperationseekstoimple-mentjointprojectsinNeom.Suchcooperationsriskthereproductionandlegitimisationofauthoritarianregimesinthename

ofsustainability.Hydrogen

projects

in

the

Global

South

tend

to

be

centralised

mega

projects

and

lackcivicparticipation.Amappingof27mostlyAfricancountriescouldnotidentifyasinglehydrogenprojectinwhichthecommunitywasconsultedpriortothedecisiontoproceedwiththeproject.Asmallgroupofpoliticalandeconomiceliteislikelytoprofitfromthesetop-down

processes.WhiletheGermanstate-industrialcomplexhaslobbiedtodelaytheEU’ssustain-ability

criteria

for

green

hydrogen,

it

has

developed

nice-sounding

standards

to

createacceptance

for

green

hydrogen

projects

abroad.

But

these

standards

apply

only

to

afewselectsites,andtheyignorekeyissuessuchascommunities’priorandinformedconsent.Communityorganisershavecriticisedtheprospectofgreenenclaveprojectsthatwillnotbecomeanintegralpartoftheireconomiesduetothelackoflocal

ownership.This

report

concludes

that

the

looming

hydrogen

colonialism

in

the

EU

and

Germany

failstodeliveronglobaljusticeandenergydemocracyconcernsasmuchasitfailstodeliveronitskeypromise:tohelptackletheclimatecrisis.Instead,thereisarealriskthatthehydrogenracewilldelayactiontostructurallydecarbonisetheeconomy:forexample,increasing

the

energy

efficiency

of

buildings

(rather

than

heating

homes

inefficiently

withhydrogen),transitioningtoagroecologicalfarming(ratherthanjustgreeningsyntheticfertilisers)

and

reducing

traffic

(instead

of

wasting

energy

on

hydrogen-powered

cars).It

is

time

that

social

justice

and

climate

movements

stand

up

against

project

hydrogenand

the

damage

it

will

likely

cause

to

communities

and

the

planet.ContentsExecutive

summary3Introduction7Beware

the

hype:

hydrogen’s

dirty

truths9MeetGermany’shydrogen

lobby13Letting

polluters

run

the

hydrogen

show18Notabridge,buttheendpoint?

Germany’s

shift

towards

blue

hydrogen22TheGlobalSouth’s

looming

greenhydrogen

curse24Conclusion33Endnotes34IntroductionGermany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disaster7ItwasyetanotherhumanrightscrackdowninSaudiArabia.Inautumn2022,threemenweresentencedtodeath;twoothershadbeengiven50-yearprisonsentences.AlltheyhaddonewastoprotesttheirevictionfromtheirhomestomakewayforNeom,theregimes’splannedmegacity.“Theseshockingsentences[...]showtheSaudiauthorities’callousdisregardforhumanrights,andthecruelmeasurestheyarepreparedtotake,”commentedhumanrightsgroupALQST.1Thegrouphadlongcalledonbusinessesin-volved

in

Neom

to

either

use

their

leverage

with

the

Saudi

authorities

to

quash

the

unjustverdicts

or

to

withdraw

from

the

project.2In

September

2022,

around

the

time

of

the

verdicts,

representatives

of

one

German

corpo-rationactiveinNeomhadindeedtravelledtoSaudiArabia.TopbossesfromengineeringgiantThyssenkrupp,whichwillinstallanelectrolysertoproducehydrogeninthemega-city,werepartofabusinessdelegationaccompanyingGermanChancellorOlafScholztothe

Gulf.

The

goal

of

this

“energy

shopping

tour,”3

as

the

trip

was

framed

by

the

Left

oppo-sitionparty,wastograntGermanindustryaccesstohydrogenprojectsinSaudiArabiaaswellastohydrogenexportsleavingthecountry.Thegrimhumanrightssituationappar-entlydidnotdampenspirits,andtheGermandelegation’smission

wasaccomplished.Welcome

to

Germany’s

brave

new

hydrogen

world.How

Germany

shapes

this

new

hydrogen

world

will

have

serious

repercussions

on

the

EUlevel.

Germany’s

strategy

on

this

trendy

gas

“has

had

the

strongest

influence

on

hydrogendiscussions

in

Brussels,”

says

a

former

researcher

from

climate

think

tank

E3G.4

Again

andagain,theGermangovernment–inclosecooperationwiththepro-hydrogenfossilfuellobby–hasuseditsinfluencetopushhydrogenontheEUlevel,forexample,duringtheGerman

Presidency

of

the

EU

Council

in

2020.5As

a

result,

hydrogen

has

become

a

cornerstone

of

EU

policies

and

the

EU

plans

to

spendbillions

in

public

subsidies

to

spur

its

hydrogen

sector.

The

bloc’s

REPowerEU

plan

set

theEU’s

2030

targets

for

green

hydrogen

to

20

million

tonnes,

with

one

half

to

be

produced

athomeandtheotherhalfimported.6Comparethatwiththelessthan0.04milliontonnesofgreenhydrogenthatwereproducedgloballyin20217andyougetanideaofhowimpossiblyhighthattargetis.TheEUalsoplanstoscaleuphydrogeninfrastructure,andthe

gas

industry

is

lobbying

for

a

‘Hydrogen

Backbone’

that

would

include

53,000

kilome-tresofhydrogenpipelines–partlyretrofittedfossilgasinfrastructureandpartlynew–by2040.8Again,thiswouldbeamassiverampupfromthemere2,000kilometresofpipe-lines

that

are

currently

able

to

carry

hydrogen

in

Europe.98Germany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disasterGermany’shydrogenstrategywillalsohaveimpactsonglobalsupplychainsandtraderoutes.

While

the

government

is

investing

heavily

to

produce

green

hydrogen

at

home,

itplans

to

cover

two-thirds

of

its

future

demand

for

the

gas

with

imports.

In

fact,

GermanyissettobecomeEurope’sbiggesthydrogenimporter,withanestimatedshareof60to70percentofthefuturecombinedEU/UKimportdemand.10ThisexplainswhyGermanpoliticianshave

been

touring

the

globe

to

sign

deals

with

potential

export

countries

overthepast

months.ThisphenomenonisreasonenoughforCorporateEuropeObservatorytounpacktheGerman

dash

for

hydrogen.

Who

is

driving

it

and

who

is

benefitting

from

it?

How

‘green’isGermany’shydrogeneconomy?Whatarethelikelysocio-economicandecologicalimpactsinprospectivegreenhydrogenexportcountries,manyofwhichareintheGlobal

South?Theseare

some

of

the

questions

addressed

in

this

briefing.

But

let

us

start

with

somebasics:

the

difference

between

the

hype

and

reality

of

hydrogen.Martin

AdamsBewarethehype:hydrogen’sdirty

truthsGermany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disasterGermanyandtheEUhavebeenhypinghydrogenforyears,promotingitasthecentrepieceofaclimate-neutraleconomy.Thinkforexampleabout

steel

production,

which

could

become

less

polluting

if

hydrogenwasburnedinsteadofcoal,orimaginedecarbonisingshippingoravia-tion.

As

German

Chancellor

Olaf

Scholz

claims:

“Hydrogen

technologiesdeterminethesuccessoftheenergytransitionandthustheentiretransformationofoureconomytowardsclimateneutrality.”11Mediaoutlets

sometimes

call

hydrogen

the

“green

miracle

gas”.12Butthisrhetoricignoresakeyfact:today,99percentofgloballyproduced

hydrogen

is

made

from

fossil

fuels

–

the

largest

contributortogreenhousegasemissionsandthustotheclimatecrisis.Amongstotherthings,thisso-called‘grey’hydrogenisusedformakingam-moniafertilisersandchemicalslikemethanol.Shockingly,hydrogenproductionwasresponsibleforover900milliontonnesofcarbondioxide(CO2)emissionsin2021.13ThisissignificantlymorethantheCO2

that

was

emitted

by

the

entire

German

economy

that

same

year(675million

tonnes).1499%THE

REALITY

OF

TODAY’S

GLOBAL

HYDROGEN

PRODUCTIONGREY

HYDROGENFossilFuels(Gas,

Oil,Coal)Fossil

GasUndergroundstorageoř

CO2GLOBALHYDROGENPRODUCTION0.04%0.7%BLUE

HYDROGENGREEN

HYDROGENGreen

ElectricityWater9Germany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disaster10Thenthereis‘blue’hydrogen,whichisalsoproducedfromfossils,mostlygas.In2021,itaccountedfor

0.7

per

cent

of

global

hydrogen

production.15

To

create

blue

hydrogen,

CO2emissions

from

the

production

processarecaptured

and

stored

underground,

whichis

why

it

is

often

described

as

a

‘low-carbon’

gas.

But

this

framing

ignores

several

dirtytruths,

including

the

fact

that

blue

hydrogen’s

total

greenhouse

gas

emissions,

whichinclude

methane,areonly

moderately

lower

than

those

of

grey

hydrogen

(seebox).Blue

hydrogen

is

produced

from

fossils,

mostly

gas.Butunlikeduringthecreationofgreyhydrogen,CO2

emissions

from

the

production

process

for

bluehydrogenarecapturedandstored

underground.ThisiscalledCCS:‘carboncaptureandstorage’.Ifthe

captured

CO2

is

used

further,

it

is

called

‘carboncapture,utilisationandstorage’

(CCUS).DuetothisstoringawayofatmosphericCO2,bluehydrogenis

oftendescribedasalow-carbon,low-emissionorevenCO2-neutralgas.Butthisframingignores

threeinconvenienttruths:CCUSincludes‘enhancedoilrecovery’

(EOR),whichentailsinjectingthecapturedcarbonintodepletedoilandgasfieldsinordertopump

out–andultimatelyburn–previouslyunextractablefossils.Nearlythree-quartersofallgloballycap-tured

carbon

is

used

for

EOR,

resulting

in

even

moreemissions.16Evenwithoutenhancedoilrecovery,emis-sionsfrombluehydrogenareonlymoderatelylowerthanemissionsfromgreyhydrogen.Thereare

two

reasons

for

this:

first

of

all,CCStechnologiescanonlycaptureafractionoftheproducedCO2;and

furthermore,

a

great

amount

of

additional

gas

isusedtopowerthetechnology,leadingtoincreasedmethaneemissions.Methaneisapowerfulgreen-housegasthatincreasesglobalwarmingmanytimesmorethanCO2emissions.Itescapeswhenfossil

gas

is

extracted

and

transported.

When

all

CO2and

methane

emissions

are

added

up,

including

theupstreamonesthatoccurpriortotheCCSprocess,the

climate

footprint

of

blue

hydrogen

is

“more

than20

percent

greater

than

burning

natural

gas

or

coal”directly,accordingtothecalculationsof

USThe

dirty

truth

about

CCSandblue

hydrogenscientistsRobertHowarthandMarkJacobson.17“Hydrogenfromfossilgasisa

terribleidea,”theyconclude.18Eventhoughtheindustryhasbeen

devel-opingCCS/CCUSfor50yearsthankstogenerouspublicsubsidies,therearehardlyanyreal-worldprojects.AccordingtotheInternationalEnergyAgencytherearejust35commercialCCUSprojectsglobally.19Theseprojectscurrentlycapture45mil-lion

tonnes

ofCO2a

year,

and

this

is

projected

to

riseto220milliontonnesin2030.20Thisisjust0.6percentofthe36.6billiontonnesofCO2emittedfromfossilfuelsin2022.21CCSturnsouttobeanempty–andexpensive–

promise.Inshort,CCS/CCUSandbluehydrogenareexpen-sivegreenwashingexercisesdesignedtoactuallydrive

up

the

consumption

of

coal,

oil

and

gas,

ratherthanphasingthem

out.22Germany’sgreathydrogen

raceThecorporateperpetuationoffossilfuels,energycolonialismandclimate

disaster11Finally,thereis‘green’hydrogen,producedthroughaprocesscalledwaterelectrolysisthatuseselectricitytosplitwaterintohydrogenandoxygen.Iftheelectricityisderivedfrom

renewable

energy

sources

like

sunlight

or

wind,

the

hydrogen

is

considered

‘green’.In

2021,only

0.04

per

cent

of

globally

produced

hydrogen

was

produced

with

water

elec-trolysis,

according

to

the

International

Energy

Agency.23“The

fossil

fuel

industry

is

lobbying

heavily

for

the

production

of

hydrogen.Because

they

know

that

in

the

short

to

mid-term

most

of

the

hydrogen

thatwill

be

produced

will

be

grey

or

blue,

coming

from

gas.”HamzaHamouchene|NorthAfricaProgrammeCoordinatorattheTransnational

Institute24In

short,

green

hydrogen

is

very

rare

–

and

will

continue

to

be

so

for

some

time.

This

is

onereasonwhymoreandmoreexpertswarnthat“overhypinghydrogen[...]risksendanger-ingnet-zerogoals”astheleadingsciencejournalNatureputitinNovember2022.25Anintenselyheighteneddemandforhydrogenwilllikelyleadtothehigherconsumptionofgreyandbluehydrogenproducedfromfossilfuels;thishasbeenshowntohaveanevenworse

carbonbalancethan

the

‘traditional’

burning

of

coal,

oil

and

gas.26Green

hydrogen:

the

not-so-holy

Holy

Grail

of

the

energy

transitionBut

even

green

hydrogen,

with

its

squeaky

clean

image,

comes

with

significant

limita-tions,challengesand

risks:Energylosses.Greenhydrogencontainsonlyaround70percentoftherenewableenergyneededtoproduceit–theother30percentislostintheelectrolysisprocess.Additional

energy

losses

occurwhen

hydrogen

is

converted

into

ammonia

for

fertilisers,forexample,or

when

it

is

liquified

for

transport

or

converted

back

into

electricity.27

Con-cretely,thisiswhyaroundfivetimesasmanywindfarmsarerequiredtodrivecarsthatrunonhydrogen-basede-fuelsthanareneededforthesameamountofbattery-pow-eredelectriccars.28Wastingscarcerenewableenergycapacityonhydrogenusecouldleadtohigheremissionsoverallwhenfossilfuelpowerplantsarefireduptofilltheresultinggapsin

theelectricitygrid.Hydrogen

is

a

powerful

indirect

greenhouse

gas.

Studies

show

that

hydrogen

hasabiggerindirectclimateimpactthanCO2.Whenitreactswithothergreenhousegasesintheatmosphere–forexamplemethane–hydrogenincreasestheirglobalwarmingpotential.29

This

means

that

any

leakageof

hydrogen

will

fuel

the

climate

crisis

–

no

mat-terhowit

hasbeenproduced.Theadoptionofhydrogenrisksthedelayingofactiontostructurallydecar-bonisetheeconom