The 2021 Enapter Holiday Reading List
Green hydrogen reads to keep you warm this holiday season
December 22, 2021
If you’ve lost track of what the “new normal” is supposed to be by now, you’re in good company. At Enapter, we’ve never been the ones to go with the flow anyway, so we’ve said adieu to normal entirely in 2021 and fully embraced the flip-flopping changes, rapid development, highest of highs and forehead-scratching challenges that this predictably unpredictable year has brought.
And just like last year, we’re sharing some of the most interesting green hydrogen reads we’ve come across that reflect this wild journey into decarbonisation and where it could be taking us next.
We hope you made it through 2021 in one piece – and also that the many pieces below provide enjoyable reading as you ramp down for the holidays.
The price is right
One of the key barriers to the widespread rollout of green hydrogen is famously its cost compared to less-than-green alternatives. In 2021, this narrative started to break down:
- A global trade commodity
This nice overview article from the IISD lays out a roadmap for moving green hydrogen from a niche player to a competitive global trade commodity. - Cheaper than grey
High gas prices recently mean making green hydrogen in Europe can be cheaper than making grey or blue hydrogen! - Mass producing electrolysers
Green hydrogen isn’t the only upcoming commodity – Enapter’s mass-production strategy also envisions electrolysers as products, with big cost-reduction benefits. - Sub-$2/kg green H2 already possible
This much-touted figure for green hydrogen becoming cheaper than grey has many forecasted arrival dates but may now be possible in the best solar locations. - Beating the blue
New research contends that green hydrogen outcompetes blue hydrogen both on financial cost and (little surprise) C02 emissions.
Now trending
Huge changes are underway in the green hydrogen industry, and these below are just a tiny taster:
- Big oil, green hydrogen?
While the oil industry’s preference for hydrocarbon-based blue hydrogen is clear, this rather optimistic article spells out how big oil could drive green hydrogen development. - Homegrown EU H2
Massive green hydrogen projects are being planned around the world, but it seems it will be cheaper to produce hydrogen in the EU than ship it here. We might also add “easier”. - Ammonia tailwind
2021’s unlikely champion for green H2, Australian mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, aims to run the first ship on green-hydrogen derived ammonia in 2022. - Smart, sustainable microgrids
Microgrids are vital for reliable energy autonomy and increasingly draw on green H2 – our smart microgrid whitepaper shows how they can reach their full potential. - Artificial Intelligence of Things
Aside from marrying two buzzwords, Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) technologies hold a whole lot of promise for accelerating the rollout of green hydrogen. - Hydrogen for the home
Residential use of green hydrogen in energy storage is one of its more questioned yet most widespread applications. More in this German-language home H2 article.
The year in Enapter news
We thought 2020 was a big year for Enapter… Then came 2021:
- Enapter Campus groundbreaking
September brought the big day when we finally launched the construction of our Enapter Campus mass production, office and R&D site in Saerbeck. - Winning the Earthshot Prize
We were honoured to be awarded the #FixOurClimate Earthshot Prize founded by HRH Prince William. Read about it in this National Geographic Earthshot article. - The Multicores are coming!
Steinbeis Innovation Center siz energie+ placed the first order for the AEM Multicore, our megawatt-scale electrolyser built around 420 AEM Electrolyser cores. - €47.8 Million raised
To finance our growth, we had two successfully-placed capital increases in 2021, issuing new shares in March (German article) and October (English). - Scaling up integration
This is not strictly news but perhaps one of Enapter’s most important 2021 messages – integration partners will be one of the keys to scaling up the rollout of green hydrogen.
Green Hydrogen at COP26
Say what you will about the outcome of COP26, but green hydrogen walked away as a winner:
- Talk of the town
Green hydrogen was on the lips of everyone at COP26. Here’s how it happened. - Is the world ready for green H2?
The Rocky Mountain Institute believe that the Glasgow summit answered this question with a resounding YES. - The Hydrogen Glasgow Breakthrough
Green hydrogen was at the heart of one of the four new “Glasgow Breakthroughs” – but what does this actually mean for clean hydrogen development? - Chatting with Bill Gates
Enapter attended COP26 as winners of the Earthshot Prize and ended up demonstrating our AEM Electrolyser to Bill Gates, among others. Forbes tells the story here. - Countdown to COP27
We’re now less than a year away from COP27 in Egypt, where the race is also on to construct a 100MW electrolyser before the next summit kicks off.
Read no more!
Your eyes are probably weary after a long year; we get it. So here are a few eyes-optional picks:
- H2 aviation and space
We held “the event formerly known as Gen. Hydrogen” this year to bring together green hydrogen innovators of all stripes. The aero/space session was out of this world. - Green hydrogen, better beer
How does green hydrogen fit into visions for sustainable brewing? Key up this podcast to find out how zero-emission green hydrogen is coming to a brewery in the UK. - Scaling clean hydrogen production
Everything About Hydrogen recorded a deep-dive podcast with Enapter’s chief strategy - Is it a microwave?
For those in need of a chuckle, find out what happened when the AEM Electrolyser caught the eye of a certain Boris Johnson at COP26. (Start at 2:36)
Have a safe holiday, and join our newsletter mailing list below to get all the green hydrogen stories in 2022!