Application

Up to now, hydrogen has been used almost exclusively as a raw material in industry. In the chemical and petrochemical sectors, it plays a key role in numerous production processes. It is also used in the food industry, for example in fat hardening. In such applications, hydrogen cannot be replaced by electricity. As an energy carrier, hydrogen is currently used only to a limited extent in Germany. Overall, around 55 TWh per year are consumed. According to the Federal Government, demand is expected to rise to 90–110 TWh per year by 2030. In addition to existing uses, green hydrogen is primarily expected to reduce CO₂ emissions in steel production and in the manufacture of climate-neutral synthetic fuels for air, maritime and heavy goods transport. Its use in heating and as a backup for electricity generation using hydrogen is also under discussion.

In addition to heavy industry, hydrogen also offers applications for medium-sized businesses. It is also intended for use in gas-fired power plants so that hydrogen can generate climate-friendly electricity when wind and solar energy are unavailable. In the coming years, hydrogen may also be used in maritime and aviation sectors. It will also find limited application in lorries and trains. Whether hydrogen will be used for heating depends on the specific local energy and heating transition plans of individual municipalities.

As renewable energy capacity continues to expand, hydrogen becomes increasingly important as an energy storage medium that adds flexibility. Since energy security must be ensured not only for electricity but also for industrial, transport and heating sectors—even when wind or sun are insufficient—hydrogen serves as a storage medium that can later be used for power generation. By converting surplus electricity, for which there is no immediate demand, into hydrogen, fluctuations in renewable energy generation can be balanced out. Electrolyser efficiency has also improved significantly, with further advances expected from manufacturers. As a result, the price of green hydrogen will continue to fall, making it a cost-effective and climate-friendly alternative in the long term.

Refineries are already among Germany’s largest hydrogen consumers, accounting for roughly 40% of the 1.6 million tonnes of hydrogen used annually. While total demand is not expected to change immediately, green, climate-neutral hydrogen can directly replace so-called grey hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas. This substitution swiftly reduces CO₂ emissions. Should production shift increasingly towards synthetic fuels such as kerosene, demand for green hydrogen in refineries will increase significantly.

Hydrogen has long been an essential operating material in refineries, where operational safety is of utmost importance. Facilities are continuously monitored, with systematic inspections by internal and external experts and comprehensive safety shutdowns at least every five years to review all installations. In addition, regular inspections are carried out by supervisory authorities. The GET H2 Nukleus project partner bp is a pioneer in using green hydrogen derived from Power-to-Gas technology and was the first globally to use renewable hydrogen for producing low-carbon fuels in a refinery. In a 30-day demonstration project in 2018, bp engineers at the Lingen refinery successfully replaced grey hydrogen with green hydrogen without any issues.

Information on how safety is being ensured in the use of hydrogen can be found in the GET H2 Factsheet Safety of Hydrogen

Refineries remain a vital part of the industrial value chain, supplying the chemical industry—one of Germany’s key economic sectors. Around three-quarters of the chemical industry’s feedstocks are derived from refineries and petrochemical processes. Their importance extends far beyond diesel and petrol for transport: many industrial sectors depend on petrochemical products—for example, plastics for wind turbines, high-performance polymers for batteries, coatings, and transparent materials such as acrylates. Growth in the chemical and related industries will continue to drive demand for petrochemical precursors. Moreover, not all transport segments can be electrified. For heavy goods transport and aviation, hydrogen and synthetic fuels provide renewable alternatives—and their production still requires refineries.

No. Green hydrogen makes existing processes in refineries and chemical parks directly less carbon-intensive. Regardless of the expansion of electromobility, certain transport sectors—such as aviation, shipping and long-haul freight—cannot yet be electrified efficiently. Hydrogen and synthetic fuels offer renewable alternatives to fossil fuels for these applications. Thus, conventional fuel production becomes less carbon-intensive in the short term and is replaced by climate-neutral synthetic fuels in the long term. This is not greenwashing but a phased transformation.

Currently, hydrogen is used in steelworks as a protective gas in galvanising plants and annealing furnaces for cold-rolled steel. For example, Salzgitter Flachstahl currently consumes around 400 m³ of hydrogen per hour. In future, hydrogen will also be used in ore reduction (primary steel production) in new direct reduction plants, replacing coal-based blast-furnace routes and thus significantly cutting CO₂ emissions. To convert an annual production of 4.5 million tonnes of crude steel, approximately 1,000 times more hydrogen would be required. This conversion could reduce CO₂ emissions from steel production by more than 95%.

Safety is always the top priority in integrated steelworks. Established safety regulations and protective systems govern the handling of explosive, flammable and hazardous substances. Hydrogen handling changes none of this. Steelworks have decades of experience managing hydrogen-rich process gases. Since green hydrogen is chemically identical to grey hydrogen, operational experience and safety procedures remain valid.

Information on how safety is being ensured in the use of hydrogen can be found in the GET H2 Factsheet Safety of Hydrogen

Information on the use of hydrogen in steelworks can be found on the project website of the GET H2 partner Salzgitter’s SALCOS project

Both technologies play key roles in the transport transition and will complement one another. Electromobility—whether battery or fuel-cell-based—is a much more efficient overall solution than conventional propulsion systems. For city transport, battery electric vehicles are generally more efficient, whereas for long-distance haulage and heavy-duty transport (such as lorries, buses and trains), fuel-cell vehicles often present the better option. In aviation, hydrogen-based synthetic fuels (“e-fuels”) and advanced biofuels also offer ways to reduce CO₂ emissions.

Hydrogen storage tanks operate at pressures of around 350 bar (buses and lorries) or 700 bar (cars and some HGVs). These tanks are designed with a safety factor of 2.4, meaning they can withstand pressures of up to 840 or 1,680 bar, and are even bullet-proof. If hydrogen were to escape, it would immediately rise and disperse rapidly due to its low density. A hydrogen-air mixture is flammable but not explosive, and it burns without smoke with relatively low radiant heat. The designated safety radius for emergency services is smaller than that for conventional fuels. Only a pure hydrogen–oxygen mixture (“detonating gas”) would be explosive, but as natural air contains no pure oxygen, this scenario does not occur.

The emissions from a fuel cell vehicle are pure water vapour. Indeed, only distilled water exits the exhaust pipe. Provided the hydrogen used was produced from renewable energy, the overall emissions are 100% climate-neutral.

There are currently around 50 public H₂ filling stations in Germany (as of January 2026). This represents a decline compared to previous years, with the focus increasingly shifting to filling stations for commercial vehicles such as lorries and buses. Federal subsidy programmes are intended to create further refuelling options. 

At the start of the hydrogen economy, the focus is on applications that directly avoid CO₂ emissions—primarily in industry and heavy transport. These sectors require significantly smaller hydrogen volumes than industry overall. As production capacity and imports increase, hydrogen availability will expand, enabling wider adoption in mobility and other sectors. Building infrastructure now is essential to support this growth.

Hydrogen is already used in refineries and chemical parks, primarily produced through steam reforming of natural gas—a process that emits CO₂, creating “grey” hydrogen. Replacing this with green hydrogen, produced from water via electrolysis powered by renewable energy, saves around ten tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of hydrogen. A 100 MW electrolyser, as planned for the GET H2 Nukleus project, can produce up to two tonnes of green hydrogen per hour. With an average output of 3,750 full-load hours per year, this equates to approximately 7,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually—saving around 70,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. By 2027, the facility is set to expand to 300 MW, tripling potential CO₂ reductions to 210,000 tonnes annually.

Green hydrogen, produced from renewable energy, offers significant potential to reduce the environmental footprint of energy systems. No harmful substances are produced in its generation. Electrolysis plants are planned and approved to ensure that water consumption does not negatively affect local water availability. Moreover, hydrogen use in industry prevents substantial greenhouse gas emissions, which also contributes to improved local air quality.

The hydrogen ramp-up does not directly affect natural gas prices. Rising CO₂ prices and declining natural gas consumption will naturally lead to higher costs over time. In the long run, natural gas will become obsolete, as processes based on it will be replaced by hydrogen or electrified wherever possible.