Speciale Hannover Messe

SPECIAL HANNOVERMESS E 2023 15 Hydrogen & fuel cells The European Commission has set a goal to replace gray hydrogen, which is pro- duced from fossil fuels, with green hydro- gen, which is produced from renewable energy sources, by 2030. Green hydro- gen is considered a key technology for achieving the EU’s decarbonization goals and is seen as a way to reduce green- house gas emissions in sectors such as transportation, industry, and power generation. Offshore wind energy plays a key role in this context. Norway or the UK could export surpluses. Chile and Ar- gentina also have ideal wind conditions, and provide green ammonia or methanol. LNG terminals, or liquified natural gas ter- minals, are facilities that are used to im- port and store natural gas in liquid form. Recently, some LNG terminals have been proposed to be used as hydrogen termi- nals as well. The idea is that these exist- ing terminals could be modified to handle hydrogen in the same way they currently handle natural gas. The hydrogen would be liquefied and stored in the same tanks as the natural gas, and then regasified for distribution and use. This approach could potentially be less expensive than build- ing new hydrogen terminals from scratch, and could also help to accelerate the de- ployment of hydrogen as a fuel. Accord- ing to experts, transport via pipelines is efficient and economical over 2,000 to 2,500 km. A lot of existing pipelines could transport hydrogen, but will require tech- nical adaptations to do so – an upgrad- ing of the pipes. Hydrogen clusters will come into being. For Germany, experts reckon on five hydrogen regions in which the most hydrogen will be consumed. In other regions of the world, too, those re- sponsible are giving thought to hydrogen, although the discussions are not at such an advanced stage as in Europe. Industry 4.0 The term ‘Industrie 4.0 (or ‘Industry 4.0’ in English) was first used in Germany at the Hannover Messe trade fair in 2011. It was introduced by the German gov- ernment as part of a strategy to promote the digitization and automation of manu- facturing and other industrial processes. The concept of Industry 4.0 builds on the previous three industrial revolutions (mechanization, mass production, and automation), and emphasizes the use of advanced technologies such as the in- ternet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and big data analytics to create smart factories that are highly connect- ed, responsive, and efficient. Hannover Messe was and is the perfect showcase for Industrie 4.0. Not only is it still all about networked machines, sensor technolo- gy, data and information, and new busi- ness models, but also about a new way of thinking in industry: companies need be present on their own platforms or else develop and run them themselves, auto- mation companies must collaborate with customers, must also think in an open- source way, develop products together, involve young companies, new sectors such as the gaming industry, learn from one another, collaborate in new constel- lations (coopetition), earn money with other business cases (subscription), and cooperate even more closely on research. That is not always easy, so Industry 4.0 is a cultural issue as well. @anto_pelle