Switzerland: Green Hydrogen for a Secure Energy Future
- Swiss vote "Yes" on electricity act to strengthen supply security and enable rapid expansion of renewable energies like solar and wind power
- Infener offers immediate access to green hydrogen to store this energy and ensure supply security
Stansstad, June 10, 2024: On June 9, 2024, the Swiss people voted "yes" on the energy future and on adjustments to the energy ordinances. The amendments to the law focus clearly on the rapid expansion of renewable energies, in particular the expansion of solar systems on buildings and infrastructure. According to the Federal Council and Parliament, these offer the most quickly realizable potential for strengthening supply security. To exploit this potential, the bill contains targeted measures. In addition, it also facilitates the rapid construction of nationally significant production plants for the use of hydropower, solar and wind energy.
"Green hydrogen, an energy carrier that can be used to store and transport energy, must now play a decisive role," says Joel Vogl, CEO and co-founder of Infener. "With hydrogen, we can efficiently design the energy distribution and combine climate protection with economic efficiency without jeopardizing supply security. The storage of renewable energies is the key to a comprehensive energy transition in the areas of electricity, heat and mobility."
The Electricity Act aims to quickly strengthen supply security, make expansion economically viable, increase energy efficiency and take into account the interests of climate and nature protection. In addition, the reduction of fossil fuels through domestically produced electricity supports Switzerland's goal of achieving net-zero climate emissions.
Infener's Demands:
1. Use of hydrogen as an energy carrier: Infener offers green hydrogen as an immediately available solution. Hydrogen enables the storage and use of surplus electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy, thus ensuring supply security, grid stability and decarbonization.
2. Liberalization of the electricity grid: The adjustments to the ordinances should also include the liberalization of the electricity grid. This would not only increase the efficiency and flexibility of the electricity market, but also promote the use of hydrogen as a storage medium. A fair distribution of the network load would help to ensure that urban and rural areas benefit equally from renewable energies.
3. Promotion of regionally generated energies: The new regulations should create incentives for the self-consumption of regionally generated energies and support local electricity communities (LEGs). This strengthens the regional economy and reduces dependence on fossil fuels.
For the production of green hydrogen, only electricity from renewable sources is used for electrolysis. CO2-neutral green hydrogen, produced by electrolysis with green electricity, and its secondary products such as waste heat or oxygen make a significant contribution to making fossil fuels superfluous - in industry and transport as well as in the supply of electricity and heat.
Infener welcomes Switzerland's decision to expand electricity production from renewable sources in Switzerland and to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Measures are now needed to achieve this goal. The use of green hydrogen as an energy storage device and the liberalization of the electricity grid are crucial steps in this process.