Romania has nearly halved its renewable hydrogen production targets in a new draft of its national strategy because of lower demand expectations from transport and power generation.
The new version of the strategy, published on 8 November, envisages Romania will produce and consume around 153,000 t/yr of renewable hydrogen by the end of the decade, using 2.1GW of electrolyser capacity. A draft from May, which was subsequently consulted on, had set a goal of deploying nearly 4GW electrolyser capacity to make over 280,000 t/yr.
The sharp cuts are primarily driven by Romania anticipating much less hydrogen demand from the transport sector, at 72,400 t/yr from 168,800 t/yr, reducing the need for production. The revised draft assumes a much more widespread adoption of biofuels, curbing the need for direct hydrogen use and deployment of hydrogen-based fuels.
The new version does not factor in any renewable hydrogen use for power generation in combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) or combined heat and power (CHP) installations. The previous draft had anticipated 54,800 t/yr would be deployed for this by 2030. The revised version states "no specific CCGT or CHP projects that use renewable hydrogen mixed with natural gas have been defined until 2030". As a result, "the present strategy does not estimate the volumes necessary for this type of use in order to decarbonise the energy sector."
Some renewable hydrogen will replace fossil fuel-based hydrogen consumption in industry and be used for steel production (see table). Estimates for industrial hydrogen use are based on the EU's target that 42pc of this should come from renewable sources by 2030. Romania in June was the first EU country to pass a bill obliging industrial customers to make sure they meet this mandate, with legislation setting out potential penalties for non-compliance.
The strategy — which does not assume any imports or exports of renewable hydrogen until the end of the decade — also sets an intermediate target of 48,700 t/yr renewable hydrogen production by 2027.
As the 2030 targets have been slashed, required investments will also be much lower than initially anticipated to a forecast €4.8bn, well below the €10.4bn initially anticipated.
The strategy lists several funding mechanisms as potential options for stimulating domestic production and demand, including measures to provide operational support such as contracts-for-difference and fixed premiums.
The new draft has been put forward for another round of review by stakeholders to decide if an environmental assessment procedure is necessary.
| Forecasts for renewable H2 use | '000 t/yr |
| Sector | Demand |
| Transport | 72.4 |
| Industries with existing H2 use | 56.9 |
| Steel production | 23.7 |
| Total | 152.9 |
| - Romanian government | |
