- Project funding
-
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), National Research Council of Canada (NRC)
- Project duration
-
01.10.2022 - 31.12.2025
Background & Goal
Based on the 2022 Joint Declaration of Intent establishing the Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance, the initiative seeks to advance a transatlantic hydrogen trade corridor that drives the hydrogen economy, supports the global energy transition, strengthens climate action, and enhances energy security. In response to the call for proposals on low-carbon hydrogen technologies, the consortium submitted the H2CliP project, bringing together six partners to develop a collaborative approach for modelling and evaluating low-carbon hydrogen applications, impacts, and benefits within the Canadian and German energy systems.
Hence, the overall goal of H2CliP is to assess how hydrogen can be integrated into transformation pathways toward carbon neutrality in Canada and Germany, and to elaborate the role of hydrogen as a basis for restructuring industrial value chains.
Activities
The H2CliP project is a three-year R&D initiative (2023–2025) dedicated to advancing knowledge and cooperation around the development of a transatlantic hydrogen economy.
Through multi-level modelling and analysis, the project explores the potential for green hydrogen production in Canada and Germany, as well as the opportunities for bilateral trade between the two countries.
1. Energy system analysis – Modelling and simulating energy systems to assess how industries and energy sources can transition towards climate neutrality within an international partnership
2. Economic Analysis – Evaluating the macroeconomic and sectoral impacts of hydrogen value chain restructuring, including effects on GDP, value added, and downstream industries.
3. Life-Cycle Assessment – Quantifying the carbon footprint of hydrogen value chains between Canada and Germany.
Results
Scenario Framework
Model-based analysis in H2CliP is conducted within a scenario framework that incorporates climate policy assumptions, primarily following the IEA World Energy Outlook 2024 “Announced Pledges” emissions trajectories (https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/world-energy-outlook-2024-free-dataset). Based on the standard "Announced Pledges Technology Open" scenario, three variations are developed:
• "Announced Pledges Technology Open Optimistic", assuming more optimistic developments in Electrolyser CAPEX, OPEX and efficiency
• "Announced Pledges Hydrogen Focus", where all countries worldwide achieve their low-carbon hydrogen production targets through subsidies
• "Announced Pledges Hydrogen Trade", where Canada and Germany subsidise Canada-Germany hydrogen and derivative trade to achieve amounts based on the German Hydrogen Import Strategy
Results on Hydrogen Production, Trade and End Use
In 2050, global model results show different perspectives on the long-term development of total final energy demand. In both the AD-MERGE and NEWAGE models, a rise of electricity and hydrogen shares in the final energy use can be observed, but for hydrogen, the growth is less strong.
On a national level, Model results for Canada and Germany illustrate how the climate targets drive the phase-out of unabated fossil-based hydrogen production.
In the Announced Pledges scenarios besides “Announced Pledges Hydrogen Trade,” substantial hydrogen or derivative
exports from Canada to Germany appear only in PyPSA-EUR and TAM-Supply.
These models focus on the German energy system and include a comprehensive set of hydrogen derivative options in international trade.
In contrast, NATEM and NEWAGE are limited in the range of derivatives that could be traded internationally and take domestic Canadian hydrogen demand into account. Consequently, these models show much smaller or no Canada-Germany trade without trade subsidies.
On a regional level, the Artelys Crystal Super Grid model reports large amounts of electrolytic hydrogen production in the Canadian province of Quebec, with Electrolysis playing an important role in stabilizing the electricity grid through capacity services.
At the same time, results of the ETEM model for the greater Montreal region show a marked increase in hydrogen demand, particularly between 2040 and 2050, primarily driven by the decarbonization of heavy transport and industrial applications.
More information can be found in the related paper.
Prospective LCA Results on Canada-Germany Hydrogen Trade
Based on the modeling results, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with hydrogen supply from Canada to Germany are assessed in a prospective Life-Cycle Assessment under the Announced Pledges Hydrogen Trade scenario. Key findings highlight that using ammonia as a carrier is associated with a higher GWP100 compared to liquid hydrogen. Moreover, even in electricity systems free of fossil generation, GHG emissions persist due to the embodied emissions within the required infrastructure.
More information can be found in the related paper.
Involved research department
- Energy Economics and Social Analysis
Internal project lead - System Analysis and Renewable Energy
Contact
Jonathan Siegle
M.Sc.Research Associate
Ludger Eltrop
Dr.Head of Research Department