The mitigation of climate change and compliance with the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement require the rapid and consistent expansion of renewable energies – mainly wind and solar power – in order to achieve the desired goals, i.e. climate neutrality of the European continent by 2050. However, the expansion of renewable energies alone will not be sufficient to achieve this goal, since renewables, as volatile generation capacities, do not permanently provide the required output. The necessary residual load must be balanced by flexible and, in contrast to renewables, permanently available capacities. In Germany, this weather-independent residual load is currently still provided by conventional coal- or gas-fired power plants, as well as battery or pumped storage units, which make their contribution, for example, during wind lulls. Since the demand for electricity will continue to increase in the future due to the decarbonisation of industry, e-mobility and the increased use of heat pumps, among other things, additional flexible power must be provided through the use of gases that are as green as possible, i.e. produced on the basis of renewable energies, in order to ensure reliable supply at all times. In a climate-neutral energy system, this task is to be taken over by flexible and controllable plants that can be operated with climate-neutral fuels, primarily green hydrogen (H₂). In this context, H2-ready gas power plants that can be fired with 100% hydrogen are among the most important future options.

With its ”H2-Ready Position Paper“ published back in September 2022, vgbe explained the technical, economic and regulatory challenges for hydrogen use in the energy sector. The association defined the term ”H2-ready“ and described the steps towards 100% use of hydrogen in gas turbine plants. The vgbe Position Paper was supplemented by the vgbe Factsheet: ”H2-Readiness for Gas Turbine Plants“, which showed in detail which challenges exist for the energetic use of hydrogen from the point of view of gas turbine operators. In preparation for the effects of the delegated act on the power plant portfolio and the tendering of H2-ready power plants within the power plant strategy, it became clear that there is a need for the definition of precisely this technical, regulatory and (licensing) legal framework for the transformation process towards H2-ready power plants. For this purpose, the joint vgbe-BDEW Process Guide was created, which, in addition to the technical focus of the ”vgbe Position Paper H2-Ready“, pursues a cross-sectoral approach that combines politics, regulation, environmental protection, security of supply, economic viability and technical feasibility. With their linked Process Guide, both associations have succeeded in describing the manifold challenges regarding H2-readiness in electricity and heat generation and outlining the transformation process towards increasing use of hydrogen against the backdrop of necessary planning, approval and construction times. The result confirms that political, technological, regulatory/emission law and external factors have to be considered together.

vgbe and its members will continue actively accompanying the developments in order to pave the way towards climate-neutral and sustainable, affordable as well as secure energy supply.