Photo courtesy of Capital & Main
Most energy companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are planning to reduce investments in their gas grids, as nearly all have given up hope on using them for transporting hydrogen in a climate-neutral future, according to a survey by business consultancy Horvath cited by news magazine Der Spiegel.
“The assessment that gas networks will no longer play a central role in the future is becoming increasingly widespread,” the consultancy said in a report seen by the magazine. “Stagnation and decline prevail in the gas business.”
As Germany nears its 2045 net-zero deadline, fossil gas will have to be largely phased out. Theoretically, Germany’s gas grid could be repurposed to carry climate-neutral fuels such as biogas or so-called green hydrogen produced with renewable energy sources. But these alternative fuels are expected to be prohibitively expensive and inefficient when it comes to heating buildings. More than 90 percent of the country’s gas distribution grids are set to become useless, experts have estimated.
Horvath surveyed 91 utilities in German-speaking countries, 65 percent of which said they wanted to cut gas grid investments in the coming years. 61 percent said they expected to significantly reduce or even decommission their gas networks by 2040. Only four percent of respondents still see potential for completely converting gas pipelines to hydrogen, half of last year’s share in the annual survey. In contrast, two-thirds of survey participants plan to at least double their spending on electricity storage.