INERC team with Scalable Hydrogen Filling Application . offshore wind parks brings environmental and social impacts , such as change / loss of habitat for sea mammals and seabirds , noise from turbines or visual acceptance . Although these impacts seem small when compared to fossil fuels , their impacts on humans and animals should not be overlooked due to the potential for large developments in their use . As wind farms expand , concerns about the End-of-Life ( EoL ) of wind turbines increases . There is currently no recycling for the rotor blades presented , although 6 – 9 % of the cumulative wind-based energy related environmental impacts could be reduced by ( EoL ) recycling and the substitution of raw materials [ 5 ].
What are the critical points to be aware of ?
It can be concluded that , from a sustainability perspective , a shift from electricity from the grid to electricity from renewable energy sources would significantly decrease the environmental impact from hydrogen ’ s production . Thus , renewable hydrogen has the potential to be produced sustainably in the future and can help reduce the CO 2 emissions in order to mitigate climate change . However , there are four critical points to consider when upscaling the hydrogen production :
• First , the electricity production process is the highest contributor to the future environmental impacts of hydrogen production . Broad implementation of renewable energy sources for hydrogen production would significantly reduce the values in most environmental impact categories .
• Second , the increase of solar PV energy has a high impact on the carcinogenicity and freshwater ecotoxicity due to the extraction of raw materials and the large amounts of wastewater during the manufacturing . The recycling of PV waste and disposed PV modules is a crucial step in mitigating the environmental impact associated with solar PV production . Despite the importance of this process , the recycling rate for solar PV in 2019 was notably low at just 14 %. This highlights the significant opportunity and need for improving recycling infrastructure and policies to ensure the sustainability of solar energy systems .
• Third , although the production of hydrogen
by offshore wind energy shows lower impact than solar PV and renewable mix in all impact categories , the EoL recycling for the turbine components , as well as the associated environmental impacts on the surrounding ecosystems ( e . g ., seabirds and marine mammals ) requires further research .
• Fourth , CCS technologies are the most environmentally beneficial category in terms of climate change impact . However , the expansion of infrastructure and higher energy and material demand for the use of CCS technology could result in an increase in other impact categories .
Sustainably produced hydrogen can help to mitigate global warming and reduce the GHG . In addition , the expansion of wind and solar energy to produce renewable hydrogen in the Netherlands would support the national goal of becoming a fossil fuel free by 2050 . However , it is important to develop an integrated approach to lower the environmental impact of renewable hydrogen production . This should include measures to mitigate the impact of the manufacturing of electrolyzers , storage infrastructure and renewable energy technologies . Although it is challenging to achieve zero emissions for some parts of the hydrogen production supply chain , it is important that the implied emissions and trade-offs are considered in policy discussions on how to facilitate the upscaling of the hydrogen economy . Furthermore , increasing the electrolyser efficiency and operational hours , avoiding losses during the electricity transmission , or recovering the oxygen produced as a byproduct for further use are additional paths to be explored .
Contact Information : INERC BV T : + 31 6 82 54 9119 E : info @ inerc . nl W : http :// www . inerc . nl
References
1 . CBS . ( 2024 , March 7 ). Nearly half the electricity produced in the Netherlands is now renewable .
2 . NetBeheer . ( 2023 ). Transition of the Dutch energy system : scenario ’ s 2030-2050 . NetBeheer Nederland .
3 . TenneT . ( 2022 ). Monitoring Leveringszekerheid 2022 ( 2025-2030 ). TenneT TSO B . V .
4 . Tawalbeh , M ., Al-Othman , A ., Kafiah , F ., Abdelsalam , E ., Almomani , F ., & Alkasrawi , M . ( 2021 ). Environmental impacts of solar photovoltaic systems : A critical review of recent progress and future outlook . Science of the Total Environment 759 , 143528
5 . Li , C ., Mogollón , J ., Tukker , A ., & Steubing , B . ( 2022 ). Environmental Impacts of Global Offshore Wind Energy Development until 2040 . Environmental Science & Technology 56 ( 16 ), DOI : 10.1021 / acs . est . 2c02183 , 11567-11577 .
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Hydrogen unit and power transformer .