By Marco Meng and Andréa Oldereide
Luxembourg has signed an agreement with Denmark to invest €30 million in an off-shore plant that could produce enough power for 10 million households in Europe, in a bid to decarbonise Luxembourg’s industry by using green hydrogen.
The plant – situated off the West coast of Denmark – will produce hydrogen from wind power, an energy source that could help advanced economies make the transition away from fossil fuels.
The energy island is set to become operational by 2030, with the public tender going out early next year, the Luxemburger Wort reported on Friday. Further down the line, the plant will be linked up with the power grids of other European countries, the Luxemburger Wort said.
Luxembourg’s investment comes as the country has faced criticism from climate activists that it is showing no evidence of being able to meet its commitments to reduce carbon emissions in coming years.
Hydrogen is an alternative to electricity – which is difficult to store – as it can stock energy in large quantities over a long period of time without loss of energy and can also be transported to where it is needed by truck, ship or pipeline. Especially heavy industries, which are still relying on gas imports from Russia, could use hydrogen as an alternative energy source.
Hydrogen could service between 10% and 15% of Luxembourg’s entire energy demands, the energy ministry estimates, according to the Luxemburger Wort.
Luxembourg is also working on plans to turn a network of disused gas pipelines into hydrogen pipelines to move the commodity around more easily. The project, which is spearheaded by Luxembourg’s electricity company Creos, would see Luxembourg tied into a Europe-wide network of pipelines.
Last June, Luxembourg’s environment minister criticised an EU deal to cut carbon emissions as lacking ambition, after the EU banned the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035 onwards.
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