Policy

Hydrogen 'will probably be the most expensive route for clean heating', says German government minister

Comments come two weeks after coalition agreed new draft law on decarbonising heat that said gas networks must be converted to H2 by 2035 or be switched off

Franziska Brantner, parliamentary state secretary at the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Franziska Brantner, parliamentary state secretary at the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.Photo: German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action

A junior minister in the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has said that green hydrogen will “probably be the most expensive route” to decarbonise heating, just two weeks after the coalition government agreed a draft law that would force gas network operators to switch to hydrogen by 2035.

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“In heating, where there are heat pumps, geothermal energy and many other alternatives, hydrogen will probably be the most expensive route, parliamentary state secretary Franziska Brantner told Funke media group newspapers in an interview published today (Wednesday).

Her boss at the BMWK, Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, a fellow Green party politician, told a press conference today that he thought planning for hydrogen heating would be a risk.

Klara Geywitz, minister for housing, urban development and building, of the centre-left SPD party, added: “We shouldn't use the precious hydrogen for heating.”

In her interview, Brantner said that municipalities need to be clear about how they want to decarbonise heating in their areas.

“If I were mayor, I would not rely on hydrogen in heat planning,” the Green party politician said, adding that H2 will get priority — with state support — in sectors where electrification is not possible, such as shipping, aviation and parts of heavy industry.
“That’s where we will need hydrogen, and that’s where we should definitely use it,” Brantner, before adding that green H2 will also be needed in power generation and possibly in trucks.

Earlier this month, Habeck agreed a new draft law to decarbonise heating with his coalition partners, which said that gas networks must run on hydrogen by 1 January 2035 or be switched off.

For more details on the draft bill, click here.
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HeatingGermanyEurope
Published 19 April 2023, 12:47Updated 19 April 2023, 13:07