Industrial Users

Hydrogen in industry: the energy of the future

Achieving climate targets - but economically.

In Europe, Germany is the largest user of hydrogen in industry, with a volume of 70 TWh/a, which corresponds to around a fifth of the total European volume. Worldwide, more than 600 billion cubic metres of hydrogen are used in industry. The majority of this is produced from fossil sources. In Germany, the green share is already 5 per cent.

Hydrogen is indispensable in industry. Whether as an energy carrier or storage medium, for coal hydrogenation, as a reducing agent in metal processing, in ammonia production, as a coolant and in food production. There are already many tried and tested and reliable applications.

Until recently, fossil fuels were predominantly used to produce hydrogen, as they were previously cheaper than green electricity. Due to the new geopolitical situation and the resulting rise in the cost of fossil fuels, the production of green hydrogen itself is becoming increasingly attractive. As part of the European and German decarbonisation targets, hydrogen will also be used more and more in energy-intensive sectors of industry.

Industrial users of hydrogen face the challenge of converting their processes to hydrogen from low-CO2 production. The HydroHub supports industrial users with a comprehensive service portfolio for the hydrogen economy. We do not limit ourselves to regeneratively produced "green" hydrogen or to possible sub-sectors, but are reliably at your side along the entire value chain with the excellent 360° expertise of various TÜV NORD GROUP companies.

Advice on the hydrogen industry: HydroHub knows how to utilise subsidies

In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, Europe - and above all the German government with its National Hydrogen Strategy - is providing considerable funding. Germany has set itself the goal of achieving as widespread a conversion as possible by 2050. The possibility of long-term storage in particular makes the use of hydrogen in industry an economical and plannable, sustainable alternative. The National Hydrogen Strategy provides for high investment in research, development and production in order to enable a rapid market ramp-up of the technologies required for the sustainable use of hydrogen in industry.

Industrial users can benefit from these support measures. Make use of HydroHub's expertise in guidelines for funding opportunities. We will find out exactly how your project can succeed economically with funding and what steps are necessary to achieve this. If you take action now, you can benefit from the approved subsidies and thus drive forward the switch to green hydrogen more cost-effectively.

In addition to the decarbonisation of high-emission sectors, the federal government's funding is also aimed at making Germany the world's leading provider of hydrogen technologies.

A tenfold increase in output is foreseeable - an application example for the growing hydrogen industry

The widespread use of green hydrogen in industry is now being tested in a large number of projects. One of the first examples of reducing the carbon footprint by switching from grey to green hydrogen on an industrial scale was BP's site in Lingen in Emsland. The plan is to build a 100-megawatt (MW) electrolyser for the production of green hydrogen at the Lingen site. This project, known as "Lingen Green Hydrogen", received the final investment decision in December 2024. In the long term, the plan is to expand the electrolysis capacity to over 500 MW in order to produce several tonnes of green hydrogen per hour. This is to be used both for the refinery's processes and for customers throughout Europe Renewable electricity from the offshore wind farms in the North Sea is to be used to produce one tonne of hydrogen per hour, which is needed in the refinery to produce fuels.

Many other projects have reached FID (Final Investment Decision) status in Germany and Europe, some of which are being supported with the help of subsidies such as those from the IPCEI project family. Within the TÜV NORD GROUP, operating companies are now separately involved in 15 of these IPCEI projects and are thus helping to shape the hydrogen landscape of the future.

Hundreds of specialised services for the application of hydrogen in industry

As a leading technology consultant and service provider, we work with the companies behind the HydroHub to shape our customers' hydrogen projects sustainably and safely. Our portfolio ranges from feasibility studies, regulatory and route engineering, technical, legal and financial due diligence to functional and requirement specifications, concepts for commissioning and installation work and finally the actual plant construction.

Wherever hydrogen can be integrated into the application, our services are already helping to protect against risks or optimise the energy process chain: for hybrid supply, networking, distribution, storage and reconversion. The safety precautions that need to be taken when handling hydrogen vary depending on how it is used in industry. Especially when converting existing infrastructure for the use of hydrogen in industry, the chemical nature of the gas must be taken into account. For example, hydrogen is lighter and more volatile than natural gas, which is why pipework systems, lines, valves and pumps have to fulfil different requirements. Switching from gas to hydrogen in industry is therefore not without its challenges and requires a corresponding safety concept. This should be planned and implemented in the medium term in order to ensure the long-term economic viability of the processes.

Recognising, assessing and controlling technical hazards and risks has been one of the TÜV NORD GROUP's central tasks for over 150 years. We have developed in-depth expertise in all areas of industry and today offer hundreds of specialised services, especially for the use of hydrogen in industry. Our services accompany you from the initial project idea right through to consistently realised cycle solutions for dismantling and disposal concepts.

Experience shows how productive a co-operation can be from the very first conversation. Please give us a brief description of your project. We will put together a team of experts for you.

Areas of application for hydrogen in industry

The areas of application for hydrogen are already extremely diverse. The potential applications of hydrogen in industry also go beyond established processes: for example, the steel industry can also become largely CO2-free with the help of hydrogen as an energy supplier. A look at the facts shows that the use of hydrogen in industry is already technologically mature in many places. The remaining hurdles are often of a regulatory and economic nature. We can also advise you on this and support you with our engineering services.

Get in touch with us and find the best application for the molecule of the future with us as your partner!