„The journey towards climate neutrality is gaining momentum. Hydrogen is a key building block to achieving it.“ Ravi Srikandam, Project Manager Hydrogen is an important building block for achieving climate neutrality. The sooner climate neutrality is to be achieved, the sooner hydrogen has to be utilized. Thus, the role of hydrogen in the future energy system needs to be determined with high priority. This is reflected in the growing number of national and regional hydrogen strategies. In Germany, a national hydrogen council was launched in mid-2020. In addition, a large number of publications have appeared on the fascinating element hydrogen and its future potential as an energy carrier and feedstock. How can Germany become climate neutral by 2045 with the help of hydrogen? This question is answered by our energy team together with the project partners from the Öko-Institut and the Wuppertal Institut in the study "Climate Neutral Germany". In the climate-neutral scenario, considerable amounts of greenhouse gas-neutral hydrogen are used, as the following figure shows. The project team, consisting of engineers and economists, comes to the conclusion that a hydrogen demand of 63 terawatt hours (calorific value) could already emerge by 2030. By comparison, today's demand for natural gas is about 860 terawatt hours. By 2045, domestic hydrogen demand will rise to 265 terawatt hours. This corresponds to less than one third of today's natural gas consumption in Germany. Image Prognos, Öko-Institut, Wuppertal Institut Possible areas of application for hydrogen For electricity and district heating generation and power backup in the electricity sector As a reducing agent in the steel industry for the production of decarbonised steel In the chemistry sector as a molecular building block and For use as fuel in the transport sector (e.g. heavy-duty vehicles, aviation, ships). For further reading: Other issues investigated Which heat generator would be more efficient in a 100 percent renewable electricity system? Decentralized heat supply in a climate-neutral Germany (in German) Where can Germany set its technical and economic standards for new hydrogen technologies? Feasiblity studies: Innovations & Technology Centre for hydrogen What role does hydrogen play in Germany? Climate neutral Germany 2045 What role can hydrogen play in specific regions? Potentials for hydrogen in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region (in German), Report on the Energy Strategy Brandenburg 2040, Renewable energies in opencast mining regions At what cost can hydrogen and its downstream products be made available in the coming decades and why? Costs and transformation pathways for electricity-based energy carriers (in German) Does offshore production of hydrogen have advantages over onshore production with offshore electricity? Economic feasibility study of hydrogen production from offshore wind power, BSH (in German) More about our work in the field of Fuels & CO2 More about our work in the field of Power & Renewables Do you have questions? Your contact at Prognos Ravi Srikandam Project Manager View profile Sven Kreidelmeyer Project Manager View profile Hans Dambeck Project Manager View profile Our work on this topic Take a look at our latest projects and activities. International electricity price comparison 2025 | Project Prognos compared international industrial electricity prices for the Austrian electricity industry. Based on this analysis, we also developed recommendations for government instruments to reduce electricity costs. Read more Extra-high voltage line Ganderkesee – St. Hülfe 2023 | Project Grid operator TenneT has put an important power line into operation in Lower Saxony. Prognos supported the communication for the project. 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