Emission-free hydrogen is a crucial contributor to the decarbonization of the energy supply. To establish a H2 economy, a H2 infrastructure is needed and requires investment and energy policy decisions today. The aim of the paper is to inform these decisions by comparing and contrasting the construction of new H2 pipelines with the repurposing of natural gas pipelines for future H2 admixture.1) feasibility and (2) 1.5°C alignment are proposed as evaluation criteria for effective climate mitigation. The results show that building new H2 pipelines for renewable H2 is feasible and 1.5°C-aligned. Gas pipeline investments for future retrofitting are not recommended due to energy transition risks such as fossil-lock in and asset stranding.
We propose a framework to unravel the hurdles and opportunities for the renewable energy transition in contemporary crises to examine the interconnections between energy transition, climate risks, and geopolitical issues. The study focuses on Germany and emphasizes that neglecting climate-related risks leads to financial instability and hampers the energy transition. If Parisaligned energy and financial policies are not in place, further cascade (negative) effects on energy transitions may occur. Uncertainty and instability caused by geopolitical crises intensify negative feedback loops. Climate mitigation is thus critical because climate concerns affect financial stability and the orderly path of energy transitions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.