The Impact of Natural Gas Enriched with Hydrogen on the Environment and its Usage in the European Household Applications

Abstract

Given the European Union's ambitious plan to transition from fossil fuels to hydrogen, aiming for hydrogen to meet 24% of final energy demand by 2050 and create 5.4 million jobs by then, this paper emphasizes the significance of hydrogen in household applications, such as heating and cooking. Several European countries have already adopted this new fuel, which involves blending hydrogen with methane gas in various proportions and delivering it through existing national gas pipelines. Using hydrogen for energy production has been shown to result in lower CO2 emissions compared to using natural gas (primarily CH4) alone. Countries like Germany, Sweden, and Denmark are already incorporating hydrogen into their gas distribution systems. In Romania, the National Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines COMOTI has been conducting research on hydrogen, focusing primarily on combustion but with implications for broader applications, including production and storage of hydrogen. From an entrepreneurial perspective and in alignment with the EU's CO2 reduction goals, developing a standalone hydrogen burner for household use represents a promising business opportunity.