Impact of large-scale hydrogen electrification and retrofitting of natural gas infrastructure on the European power system

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how large-scale hydrogen electrification and natural gas infrastructure retrofitting impact the European power system's development, emissions, and costs, emphasizing the importance of hydrogen network investments for decarbonization.

Contribution

It introduces a scenario-based analysis of hydrogen electrification and infrastructure retrofitting effects on the European power system using the COMPETES model.

Findings

60% of EU hydrogen demand electrified, mainly by renewable energy

Hydrogen flexibility boosts renewable investments and reduces emissions

Retrofitting gas networks is crucial for cost-effective decarbonization

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to analyse the impact of hydrogen production decarbonisation and electrification scenarios on the infrastructure development, generation mix, $CO_{2}$ emissions, and system costs of the European power system, considering the retrofit of the natural gas infrastructure. We define a reference scenario for the European power system in 2050 and use scenario variants to obtain additional insights by breaking down the effects of different assumptions. The scenarios were analysed using the European electricity market model COMPETES, including a proposed formulation to consider retrofitting existing natural gas networks to transport hydrogen instead of methane. According to the results, 60% of the EU's hydrogen demand is electrified, and approximately 30% of the total electricity demand will be to cover that hydrogen demand. The primary source of this electricity would be non-polluting technologies. Moreover, hydrogen flexibility significantly increases variable renewable energy investment and production, and reduces $CO_{2}$ emissions. In contrast, relying on only electricity transmission increases costs and $CO_{2}$ emissions, emphasising the importance of investing in an $H_{2}$ network through retrofitting or new pipelines. In conclusion, this paper shows that electrifying hydrogen is necessary and cost-effective to achieve the EU's objective of reducing long-term emissions.