Monday, 20 May, 2024
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. With a GDP of 586 billion USD [1] , the economy of Sweden is a highly developed export-oriented economy, aided by timber, hydropower, and iron ore. [2] Sweden does not currently produce any of its own natural gas or oil, instead importing these from the countries above.
Fig 1: Installed capacity trend in Sweden( IRENA 2022 )
The country generates the majority of its electricity from a mix of low carbon sources; hydro (45 percent), nuclear (38 percent) and wind (10 percent). Biomass is becoming a larger part of Sweden’s energy mix, which the area is well suited for, as over half the country is covered in forests. Sweden aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. [3]
Like the rest of the world, the chemical and refinery industry is responsible for most of the hydrogen produced and used in Sweden. It is also clear that today’s direct use of hydrogen as vehicle fuel or in metallurgical industries constitutes only a very small proportion, approximately 1 percent. [1]
Fig 2: Overview of hydrogen use and production in Sweden today
In November 2021, the Swedish Energy Agency put forward a proposal for the National Fossil-free Hydrogen Strategy, emphasizing the urgency of limiting climate change and reducing dependency of fossil fuels. The strategy sets concrete goals and capacity targets for both 2030 and 2045. It also identifies a number of measures to promote hydrogen development, including putting in place instruments to reduce the cost gap between fossil-free and fossil hydrogen and to establish a platform for dialogue between government actors, companies and industry organizations. [1]
In the roadmaps for fossil free competitiveness, 22 sectors describe how they can contribute to the Swedish climate target of climate neutrality by 2045. Together they also show in what key areas decisive action needs to be taken in order to succeed with the transition in a way that strengthens competitiveness. Because of that, Fossil Free Sweden has developed horizontal strategies together with the actors in the different value chains to pave the way and show the road ahead. [2]
Sweden has a rich supply of moving water and biomass, which contributes to the country’s high share of renewable energy. Hydropower (water) and bioenergy are the top renewable sources in Sweden – hydropower mostly for electricity production and bioenergy for heating. [1]
The largest source of bioenergy in Sweden is the forest. Sweden has more forest than most other countries – 69 per cent of the land area. Bioenergy is primarily used for heating – both in private homes and in district heating – as well as for electricity production and for industrial processes. The capacity of Wind power continues to expand in Sweden. In 2000, Swedish production totaled 0.5 TWh, for 2022 that figure was just over 33 TWh. Today, there are more than 4,700 wind turbines in Sweden. The Swedish solar cell market is still limited, with solar energy accounting for around 1 per cent of the total energy generated. [2]
The proposal by the Swedish Energy Agency suggests a green hydrogen production target between 22-42 TWh of green hydrogen by 2030, and 44-84 TWh by 2045. The Swedish Energy Agency has proposed a total electrolyser capacity of 5 GW by 2030 and 15 GW by 2045. [1]
Fig 3: Electrolyzer capacity targets (in GW) of Sweden
Some notable hydrogen projects in Sweden are [1] : -