Uniper’s shareholders agreed earlier this week to a bailout plan by the German government to the tune of around 33 billion euros, under which the gas company is nationalized to avoid implosion. The company had to deal with a huge increase in gas prices due to the war in Ukraine. With the nationalisation, the German government also expects Uniper to meet its climate goals.
Therefore, green hydrogen is seen as a crucial factor in shaping the global clean energy transition. While green hydrogen is still too expensive to compete with fossil fuels, the clean energy source is expected to turn into a mass product in the coming years. Green hydrogen does not emit climate-warming gases when it is burned and is created when renewable energy is used to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Import
Germany plans to import large quantities of hydrogen in the long term, to become independent from coal and meet its 2045 energy goals. In addition, efforts are underway to import more LNG from the Middle East to reduce dependence on gas from pipelines Russians.