Content presentation of the 4th Boysen-TUD-RTG - Cluster E

Hydrogen imports from the MENA region compared to hydrogen production in Germany

Disciplines involved

Business administration, transportation science, economics, communication science, electrical engineering

Motivation and goals of cluster E

The German government's national hydrogen strategy points out that the majority of hydrogen demand will have to be imported. Due to the attractive potentials for renewable energies and their proximity to Europe, the so-called MENA states (Middle East and North Africa) are considered promising regions for a possible hydrogen export (or further processed gaseous or liquid energy carriers based on it, including methane or methanol). The aim of Cluster E is to analyze and evaluate the export of hydrogen from the MENA countries to Europe in a transdisciplinary manner and to contribute to crossing disciplinary boundaries and to the interplay of socio-political and scientific-analytical decision-making or problem-solving processes. The planned work includes investigating the plasma-chemical synthesis of energy storage devices for the safe transport of hydrogen from a technical perspective, analyzing the journalistic construction of hydrogen in the media, conducting a detailed economic assessment of required import potentials, and an extended cost-benefit analysis. This transdisciplinary approach is directly related to the research topic "Hydrogen Economy" and the "National Hydrogen Strategy".

Scientific added value sought in the cluster

• Elaboration of technical, economic and social framework conditions of a possible hydrogen import from the MENA regions to Europe
• Risks and potentials of hydrogen export from MENA countries   
• Hydrogen transport options and implications for transformation pathways
• Narratives of a hydrogen economy and social perceptions
• Comparison to hydrogen production in Germany

The subprojects in detail

Cluster E combines a total of four subprojects (SP E1 to SP E4).

The objective of SP E1 - Market Model Based Energy Economic Analysis of H2 Import Demand and Import Potential of Synthetic Gases from MENA Countries is to focus the analysis on the supply side and to determine for the European energy system, with the help of cost potential curves, where hydrogen can be sourced cost-efficiently and at what prices. The focus is on the MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa). A systematic data and model-based approach will be used to identify promising countries of origin for meeting the demand for hydrogen. Furthermore, production and trade volumes are to be modeled under energy-economic conditions and a European hydrogen market model is to be built up in order to develop strategic perspectives and political recommendations for action on this basis.
The technical supervision of the project is carried out by the Chair of Business Administration, esp. Energy Economics of the Faculty of Business and Economics (first supervisor Prof. Dominik Möst) and the Chair of Big Data Analytics in Transportation of the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences (second supervisor Prof. Pascal Kerschke) of the TU Dresden.

In SP E2 - Plasma-chemical synthesis of energy carriers for the storage and transport of green hydrogen and as a basis for the production of e-fuels, a scalable technology for the generation of chemical energy storage, e.g. for safe, efficient transport from MENA countries or for integration into energy parks, will be developed and compared with competing technologies. The aim is to investigate the synthesis of liquid media such as methanol by conversion of green hydrogen and carbon dioxide in electron beam-generated plasmas at atmospheric or low vacuum conditions.
The technical supervision of the subproject is carried out by the Chair of Coating Technologies in Electronics of the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the TU Dresden (Prof. Elizabeth von Hauff).

In view of the increasing political interest in a European-North African hydrogen program
North African hydrogen program, the methodology for evaluating such a program will be further developed and applied to one or more MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries in SP E3: Extended Cost-Benefit Analysis for Hydrogen Production in MENA Countries. The focus of the work is on modeling and quantifying investment risks and the relationship of investments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (hereafter SDGs) in the context of an appropriate evaluation methodology in each case, such as cost-benefit analysis or real option analysis. Another challenge that the subproject addresses is the evaluation of the impact of energy/hydrogen production on the SGDs of the UN such as sustainability, contribution to the reduction of climate change, the social dimension and the development perspective in the context of hydrogen production extended. The integration into the local and African power supply is also to be considered. Among other things, the costs and sustainability aspects of the required resources are also to be modeled. This subproject is technically supervised by the Chair of Economics, esp. Transport Policy and Spatial Economics of the "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences of the TU Dresden (Prof. Georg Hirte).

SP E4: Hydrogen technology and economy in the media - an international comparative analysis of their journalistic construction with special attention to the MENA countries as well as the representation of medium-sized enterprises pursues the question of how hydrogen technology and economy and their political framework conditions are represented, commented on and framed in the media. Traditional mass media (newspapers, magazines) as well as journalistically relevant parts of the digital public sphere (online forums, blogs, social networks) will be examined. From a theoretical point of view, narratives and journalistic framing will be investigated, thus answering the question of which interpretive frames dominate the discourses and how these come about.
This doctoral project is supervised by the Chair of Media and Communication/Economic and Political Communication at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science of the TU Dresden (Prof. Lutz Hagen).