Shell, Energy Storage and the Sustainable Hydrogen Fallacy
As COP29's Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge session gets underway, the renewable energy sector faces a persistent challenge that threatens to maintain fossil fuel dependency: storage capacity.
Despite significant advances in renewable energy generation, the intermittent nature of these power sources poses a substantial hurdle to complete decarbonisation.
How to solve the problem
"If we don't figure out a way of storing renewable energy, there's a chance we're still going to be dependent on fossil fuels", warns Neel Dhanesha of Harvard University's Nieman Journalism Lab, highlighting the critical nature of the storage challenge facing the industry.
Current solutions present a mixed picture of progress and limitations. While battery storage offers immediate possibilities, particularly for residential solar installations, the environmental and social impacts of lithium mining raise serious sustainability concerns.
Pumped storage hydropower has emerged as a leading solution, with global capacity recently surpassing 200GW following the completion of China's Fengning facility in August 2024.
The 3.6GW plant represents a significant milestone in large-scale energy storage, though the technology's geographic limitations restrict widespread adoption.
What is the stock of renewable gas?
The renewable gas sector, particularly green hydrogen and biogas, is attracting substantial investment from major energy companies. Shell's Director of Integrated Gas and New Energies, Maarten Wetselaar, puts a fine point on hydrogen's potential.
"Hydrogen is one of the key technologies that will help decarbonise heavy industry, transport and power generation," he says. "It has the potential to play a major role in the energy transition and we are focused on making it a core part of our future energy system."
Biogas represents a significant advancement in sustainable fuel technology, with lifecycle assessments indicating its greenhouse gas emissions are substantially lower than those of conventional natural gas.
However, industry experts note that widespread adoption faces challenges in production capacity and securing consistent feedstock supplies.
Hydrogen fuel production presents additional complexities, particularly in its classification system and production methods. Despite hydrogen being naturally abundant, harnessing it as an energy carrier requires a lot of work, electricity and money.
The most environmentally sound approach involves water electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources - this is known as green hydrogen.
The green hydrogen process creates storable fuel by splitting water molecules into their constituent elements, effectively allowing excess renewable power to be captured and preserved for future use.
As Dennis Schulz, CEO of ITM — a British market leader in energy storage and green hydrogen production — says: "Green hydrogen will play an important role in the energy transition."
What are major energy companies doing to address this issue?
Major energy corporations are positioning themselves at the forefront of storage innovation. Shell's involvement in the NortH₂ project demonstrates significant commitment to green hydrogen production using offshore wind energy.
Similarly, Equinor's Chief Executive Officer Anders Opedal has highlighted the company's focus on hydrogen development in the past.
"Hydrogen is essential to meeting the world's climate goals," he said. "We are working to accelerate the development of hydrogen technologies, which will be critical to decarbonising heavy industry and long-haul transport".
Uniper has also embraced hydrogen as central to its strategy. Whilst at Uniper, former CEO Andreas Schierenbeck said "hydrogen is a crucial part of our decarbonisation strategy. We believe it will be the backbone of a sustainable energy future, especially for sectors where electrification is not an option".
Is hydrogen the biggest red herring of the energy transition?
However, hydrogen's role in the energy transition faces significant criticism, particularly regarding its efficiency as a heating solution.
Jan Rosenow, Vice President and European Programme Director of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), presents a scathing assessment.
"It's deeply problematic to think about using hydrogen at large scale to heat buildings," he says.
"It's very, very inefficient compared to heat pumps. You need five to six times more electricity if you use green hydrogen to create heat, five to six times more renewables, five to six times more land, facilities and everything else".
Jan points to ulterior motives influencing the discourse: "The evidence is crystal clear. We're still seeing people everyday championing that idea of using hydrogen for heating, and why is that? Basically, because there are very strong vested interests in keeping the gas grid running".
'We need a portfolio of solutions'
As the industry grapples with these challenges, Maarten advocates for a comprehensive approach, saying: "We need a portfolio of solutions — hydrogen, renewable gas, energy storage and carbon capture technologies — to build the future energy system.
"By working together, we can unlock the potential of these technologies to decarbonise and create a more resilient, sustainable energy system".
Celia Greaves, CEO of The Hydrogen Energy Association will be discussing this topic further at Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero on 5/6 March 2025, get your tickets now.
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