The path to climate neutrality cannot be completely planned. It will always be challenged by external factors - the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine have demonstrated this impressively. And there are many other imponderables: Technological developments, acceptance, financial constraints, supply chains, availability of skilled employees, project schedules and, last but not least, the transformation paths of our European neighbours.
The best response to the uncertainties is to create as many options as possible. Action alternatives reduce the risk of high energy costs, limited availability and setbacks in climate protection, lack of acceptance among citizens and customers and, ultimately, decreasing support for the project of transitioning to climate neutrality.
In view of these challenges, it is important to utilise the availability of renewable and decarbonised gases and the existing infrastructure for this purpose. In this way, we create more options and strengthen the reliability of the overall energy system.
In addition to purely electrical decarbonisation solutions, applications with new gases create additional possibilities for minimising conversion risks. Examples of where new technologies are needed are in high-temperature control processes in the industrial sector, in heavy goods traffic on the roads and in the field of heat supply, where energy-efficient design and electrification are not sufficient solutions. Here, too, the projected demands vary; they are between 20 and 60 TWh for 2030 and between 80 and 434 TWh for 2045.