In 2015, national governments signed the Paris Agreement and committed to keeping global warming below 1.5 °C. However, we are only slowly grasping the profoundness of necessary changes to our economies to keep up with this promise. Especially developed countries aiming for climate neutrality by 2050 need to eliminate emissions in hard-to-abate sectors within 30 years. However, technological solutions are often not even available on a commercial scale yet.

This seminar about current research projects provides an overview of the work done at IIT and ongoing research aiming to understand better how the hydrogen economy as a solution for hard-to-abate sectors may emerge over the upcoming decades. Special emphasis will be on the role of hydrogen for heavy industry and the technical, regulatory, and economic challenges beyond the energy transition to make future basic material consumption climate neutral.