Denmark to heavily invest in hydrogen - hope for many new jobs and a new export industry

In my last blog post I wrote about my future belief in hydrogen as an energy source.
Since then, things have happened.
At the end of June this year, Denmark announced that they want to invest greatly in hydrogen for cars, as well as heavy transport and aviation – news which for example was broadcasted in Swedish radio.

Denmark, like me, believes that hydrogen is the future. To get there, they will initially build two energy islands for hundreds of wind turbines in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. This is done to meet Denmark's climate goals.

Ulrik Stridbeck, head of energy and economics at the energy company Ørsted, the largest wind power company in Denmark, told Swedish Radio:
"With three gigawatts of sea wind, available at Bornholm, hydrogen can be produced for buses and trucks, but the great opportunity is the demand from Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup."

Denmark was the first country in the world to build offshore wind turbines, already in the early 1990’s. Going from being a very expensive technology, wind power has recently fallen considerably in price. As for the Danish government, this makes one of the decisive elements and the country now aims to build two "energy islands" with hundreds of new wind turbines. The intention is to produce enough electricity to sufficient large parts of Denmark, as well as to produce hydrogen for heavy vehicles and aviation, among other things.

Hydrogen, which is made from water by means of electricity, can either be used directly among industries or as fuel in both cars and heavier transport. A thrilling thing the Danes have noticed is that the gas can be combined with carbon dioxide and form methanol, a so-called electrochemical fuel, which actually can power aircraft.

Recently, a number of Danish companies presented plans for a major production facility for electrochemical fuel in Copenhagen. The idea is to collect carbon dioxide from some of the city's heating plants and waste facilities, and the goal is to produce 30 per cent of Denmark's demand for aviation fuel already in ten years.

This also fits well with the Danish Folketing's plan to reduce the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 70 per cent by 2030. At the same time they are hoping for more job opportunities and a new Danish export industry.

If this is done right, I am convinced that Denmark will receive a large number of new jobs and substantial revenues from the sale of hydrogen.

Why do Swedish politicians never dare to invest in Sweden to lead developments in something similar?

Thomas