Shortage of materials threatens planned green hydrogen production

15-06-2021 | P2Hydrogen | P2Integrate | Research result

Shortage of materials threatens planned green hydrogen production The Netherlands is fully committed to developing the hydrogen economy: replacing fossil fuels with (green) hydrogen from sustainable sources such as sun and wind. However, an important aspect remains underexposed in the plans: there is a threat of a major shortage of the raw materials needed for the electrolyzers that produce the hydrogen.

Because the availability of those scarce raw materials such as iridium and platinum will become acute in the short term, there is a growing problem for the energy transition. By 2050, hydrogen production in the EU alone will require much more iridium than is currently produced worldwide every year. In the two papers "Towards a green future" TNO argues for greater awareness of this problem by having it permanently discussed in climate consultations and setting up a risk management system for security of supply. The government can also consider acting as a strategic purchaser and thus give priority to this application of the materials. In the papers TNO also explored which strategies can contribute most to countering this looming scarcity.

These papers are the result of the hard work of VoltaChem team members Anastasia Gavrilova and Sara Wieclawska, who worked on the topic over the past two years as part of the VoltaChem Power-2-Integrate program line.