Solar hydrogen energy management - results of a long term projection for the Federal Republic of Germany

Assuming that by the middle of the next century in West-Germany a CO2-reduction of over 60% may be necessary, the implementation of a hydrogen based economy is not only consistent with the condition of using the most economic energy supply; besides the use of other competitive technologies (energy conservation and renewables) the CO2-reducation targets actually force the introduction of hydrogen technologies. To achieve the Toronto target of an 80% CO2-reduction by the year 2050, the potential share of hydrogen in primary energy consumption could be about 30%. In West-Germany the annual cash-flow for such a scenario would be about 150 mrd ECU higher than today. But taking into account the increasing GNP, the total relative costs of the energy systems will not be higher.