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The Economical Crisis as a Chance
This is the time to invest in the future
„When you find that you are riding a dead horse, you better dismount.“ It is not yet quite certain whether or not we owe this deep truth really to the Dakota Indians. But it is definitely an excellent guideline for the strategical decisions in politics and economy in the face of the present economical crisis.
Our energy supply on the basis of fossil fuels is obviously not sustainable, due to the progressive exploitation of the resources and the climate problem. It has been clear for a long time that we have to dismount this horst. But fundamental changes in a system as big as the energy economy can not be made in a short time. The state has the chance to accelerate or to steer such a process.
Governments around the globe are not pumping trillions of Euros into the economy to prevent its collapse. Now is the time to use at least a part of these funds in the right place and under the right conditions to accelerate the energy transition. This has to be complemented by the right legislative actions.
The energy sources of tomorrow must be sustainable. The two most important energy carriers of tomorrow will be electricity and hydrogen. They permit storage and transport of energy at the demand of the customer. Due to the convertibility of electricity and hydrogen into each other these two will be pillars of a sustainable energy economy.
Hydrogen is necessary to use sustainable energy in road transport. Batteries and hydrogen complement each other.
Hydrogen can also be used to stabilize the grid which is necessary due to the fluctuating energy input from renewable sources. Storage of hydrogen in underground caverns e. g. offers a much higher energy density than that of pressurized air. Since the places suitable for this are limited and mining law demands considerable planning delays the basic decisions about this must be made today.
All this requires not only more effort in research and development of electrolysis, storage, fuel cells, motors, and turbines. We also need a political commitment for hydrogen energy and a general plan for the creation of an infrastructure in order to cope with the changes at hand. This would offer safety for planning, enticements for the economy, and reliability for investors. Remunerations for feeding stored power from renewable sources into the grid must be increased and fixed according to the efforts.
Hydrogen and fuel cells must have a higher rank in education (general and occupational) because changes of the energy supply are not feasible without the consent of the public.
The social significance of the energy economy makes is necessary to use the whole spectrum of sustainable energy sources as well as that of storage, transport, and conversion technologies, depending on the application. This is the energy mix of tomorrow. Hydrogen and fuel cells are part of it. They are not a miracle cure, but the transition will not be possible without them.
Published by the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (DWV), Berlin
Editor: Dr. Ulrich Schmidtchen, Berlin
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