Europe 'needs 25.5GW of new wind power for green hydrogen by 2030': EU steel producers
Green steel would require 150TWh of renewable energy — half of which would be needed exclusively for H2 production, industry says
Hydrogen production for green steel manufacture could gobble up over half of the increase in wind power capacity target in the EU’s REPowerEU package, according to estimates released by the wind and steel industries.
European green steel producers are calling for at least 31GW of renewable energy capacity to be built by 2030 to support the transition to low-carbon steel, of which half would be required to produce green hydrogen.
Other high-temperature steelmaking processes can use renewables-powered electric-arc furnaces.
This means that the equivalent of 15.5GW-25.5GW of wind power would be required for hydrogen production for the steel industry alone — accounting for 3-5% of the EU’s 510GW REPowerEU target for wind by 2030.
Of course, other types of renewable energy such as solar and hydropower could also be used to produce green hydrogen, with REPowerEU notably aiming for 592GW of solar power in the EU by 2030 — a 62GW increase on the previous Fit for 55 target.
“Theoretically it is possible that wind can cover the electricity demand for steel producers,” a spokesman for WindEurope tells Recharge. “A precondition for this to become a reality is that Europe reaches its 510 GW wind energy target.”
In order to do that, the sector would have to more than double the current installed capacity of wind power in Europe, which currently stands at 190GW, installing an average of 39GW of new wind capacity every year.
“Steel companies would need to sign 31GW of PPAs [power purchase agreements],” the spokesman added. “To reach this number, governments need to support PPAs and remove barriers to corporate PPAs.”