The EWI analyses in the policy brief the impact of a simultaneity obligation between green electricity generation and hydrogen production on the economic viability of electrolysers and their induced CO2-emissions in the power sector. The policy brief is based on the working paper „Simultaneity of green energy and hydrogen production: Analysing the dispatch of a grid-connected electrolyser” which has been written on behalf of the Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Energiewirtschaftlichen Instituts an der Universität zu Köln e.V. (EWI e.V.).
Policy makers are currently discussing which criteria exactly define green hydrogen. One of the expected criteria is that hydrogen must be produced using green electricity which coincides in time and balance with the electricity consumption of the electrolyser. This is called the simultaneity obligation. The EWI team compares an electrolyser dispatch without and with (varying) simultaneity. If the criterion is rather strict (high simultaneity required), indirect emissions in the electricity sector are prevented because only renewable electricity is used. If the criterion is less strict (less high simultaneity required), investments in electrolysers could become increasingly attractive as their operation becomes more economical.
