据世界石油网站10月10日报道，德国经济部长表示，德国应该致力于成为制造和利用氢技术的领导者，在向低碳经济转型的过程中，氢是化石燃料的绿色替代品。
政府一直在推动可再生能源和其他技术的发展，以帮助德国在2030年之前将碳排放量在1990年的基础上减少55%，在2050年之前减少80%到95%。但是，它已经设定了到2020年减排40%的目标。
德国经济部长彼得·阿尔特迈尔(Peter Altmaier)在一份声明中说:“我们必须制定方针，使德国成为世界上氢技术第一大国。”
他在柏林的一次会议后表示:“现在是时候开发氢燃料和必要的技术了。”这次会议讨论了德国2030年的目标和氢燃料使用战略。
长期以来，氢气一直被视为化石燃料的潜在替代品，因为它在氧气中燃烧时会排放水，而不是像煤炭、石油和天然气那样排放二氧化碳这种温室气体。
但是使用氢气也存在挑战。尽管可以通过电解水来生产天然气，但这需要大量的电力，而德国的电力大部分来自化石燃料，尽管柏林正在扩大能源来源。
德国的目标是在向低碳经济转型的过程中，更多地使用天然气作为过渡燃料。与煤炭或石油相比，天然气产生的温室气体排放更少。
分析人士说，如果燃料可以商业化使用，那么现有的天然气基础设施，例如管道和储罐，也可以用于氢气。
管道运营商表示，德国天然气管道网络可能会被缓慢调整，以便在2030年前输送10%的氢和90%的天然气，从长远来看，氢的含量将上升到20%至30%，这将有助于减少天然气燃烧所产生的排放。
德国有试点项目来测试使用电解法从水中产生氢的方法，但这些方法尚无商业可行性。主要行业也一直在研究可以在制造过程中使用氢作为燃料的项目。
为了鼓励使用氢，经济部已建议创建氢技术的欧洲和国际认证，探索将这些技术推向市场的方法，并寻求合作伙伴国家。
李方征 编译自 世界石油
原文如下：
Germany aims to cut carbon emissions by 55% by 2030
Germany should aim to be a leader in technologies needed to make and utilize hydrogen, which offers a green alternative to fossil fuels in the shift towards a low carbon economy, the economy minister said.
The government has been pushing renewables and other technologies to help cut Germany's carbon emissions by 55% of their 1990 level by 2030 and by 80% to 95% by 2050. But it is already set to miss a target of a 40% cut in emissions by 2020.
"We have to set the course so that Germany becomes the No. 1 in the world in hydrogen technologies," Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in a statement.
"Now is the time for hydrogen and the technologies that are necessary for it," he said after a meeting in Berlin to discuss Germany's 2030 targets and its strategy for hydrogen usage.
Hydrogen gas has long been viewed as a potential alternative to fossil fuels because it emits water when it burns in oxygen rather than CO2, the greenhouse gas that coal, oil and natural gas emit.
But there are challenges to using hydrogen. Although the gas can be produced from water by electrolysis, this requires large amounts of electricity which Germany mostly generates from fossil fuels, although Berlin is expanding sources.
Germany aims to use more natural gas, which produces less greenhouse gas emissions than coal or oil, as a transition fuel in the shift towards a low carbon economy.
Existing infrastructure for natural gas, such as pipelines and storage tanks, could also be used for hydrogen, if the fuel became available in commercial quantities, analysts say.
Pipeline operators have said the German network could be slowly adjusted so that it carries 10% hydrogen and 90% natural gas by 2030, rising to 20% to 30% hydrogen in the longer term, helping reduce emissions from gas combustion.
Germany has pilot projects to test ways to produce hydrogen from water using electrolysis but these are not yet commercially viable. Major industries have also been working on projects that could use hydrogen as fuel in manufacturing.
To encourage hydrogen usage, the Economy Ministry has proposed creating European and international certification for hydrogen technologies, exploring ways to market those technologies and seeking partner countries.
