Romania has the capacity to become one of the leaders of the transition to the large-scale use of green energy and hydrogen, but the low interest of the majority of political classes for innovative technologies in the energy sector could lead to missing some objectives.

“The European Commission approved through the NRRP the sum of 149 million euros to support the production of hydrogen from renewable sources in Romania. From a personal point of view, I am skeptical that Romania will absorb the entire amount available through the NRRP because I do not see an increased interest of the majority of political classes in facilitating projects that use these technologies and this money. The deadline is December 31, 2023. There is not much time left,” said Adrian Paraschiv, Photomate country manager, at the conference “Hydrogen Project – what we have in Romania”, organized by Energynomics.

The scheme aims to support the construction of new facilities for the production of renewable hydrogen, to achieve by 31 December 2025 hydrogen production capacities from renewable sources of at least 100 MW in electrolysis plants producing at least 10,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The maximum amount of aid that can be granted per project will not exceed 50 million euros. According to Paraschiv, although hydrogen has been talked about as a potential substitute for natural gas for at least ten years, “let’s not imagine that it will happen tomorrow.”

“I think we’ll only be talking about hydrogen for another ten years,” he added.

Currently, hydrogen is not transported, but used where it is produced, and the number of hydrogen cars is still extremely small. However, hydrogen has a quality that electricity does not, namely that it is not volatile, so it can be stored. With the advance of research in this sector, the transport of hydrogen to places of consumption will become reliable with the increase of investments. Paraschiv appreciates that, at the moment, it is not feasible to suddenly switch to renewable energy sources due to the high costs of changing all existing equipment. Therefore, a transitional period is needed.

DWLOAND THE PRESENTATION OF ADRIAN PARASCHIV

“The optimal solution will be a mix of all the solutions that we will have because there are economic, financial and social costs that will have to be paid”, stated Paraschiv. The Photomate company achieved a global turnover of over 490 million dollars last year.

The conference “Hydrogen Project – what we have in Romania” was organized by Energynomics with the support of our partners Aplind, Delgaz Grid, Horváth, Photomate and Transgaz.