Germany's energy landscape is getting a major shakeup, thanks to a long-term agreement between state-owned company Sefe and Norway's Equinor. This deal, one of Equinor's largest ever, promises a substantial supply of gas, totalling 111 terawatt hours, over the next two decades. Equinor, with a considerable stake from its home country, will deliver gas between 2024 and 2034, approximately equivalent to a third of Germany's industrial energy needs annually.
Sefe, formerly a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, is currently constitutionally bound to secure energy for Europe. Now, post-Gazprom, Sefe is set to transition to low-CO2 hydrogen as a secondary energy source. Following this ambition, they've inked a letter of intent with Equinor, aiming to procure 5 terawatt hours per year of low-CO2 hydrogen from 2029 to 2060. The aim is to incrementally increase this supply, eventually reaching up to 40 terawatt hours per year between 2050 and 2060.
Norway, home to Equinor, is a leading energy producer on the European continent. The company continues to maintain high and stable oil and gas production, along with record oil production from the Johan Sverdrup field. Equinor is also investing heavily in recovery efforts to boost production. This continued output will serve as the backbone for both the gas delivery agreement and the intended hydrogen cooperation between Equinor and Sefe.
Germany, a pioneer in the embracement of clean technologies, aims to import hydrogen with an energy equivalent of between 45 and 90 terawatt-hours by 2030, reaching up to 500 terawatt-hours by 2045. Integrating hydrogen into various industries, such as steel production and energy storage, will enable Germany to strive towards carbon neutrality.
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[3] Federal Government, Germany (2021). Hydrogen Strategy 2021. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Publikationen/Energie/Hydrogen-Strategie-2021.html
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