July 17, 2024 | Jordan Baker, Center for Clean Energy Engineering

UConn’s Center for Clean Energy Engineering (C2E2) had the privilege of welcoming Dr. Kathrin Ebner from Munich Re. Ebner, who works in reinsurance and risk assessment for Munich Re , a multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany, came and presented to students and faculty about her work with green hydrogen and risk assessment.

Ebner gave a talk that shed light on technical risks on multiple levels for green hydrogen. These insights into the various risks associated with this technology were then translated into financial risks where she talked more about what her job entails and how her knowledge with green hydrogen allows her to look at these risks more effectively while also aid in raising people’s awareness.

“In my view, it is important to realize that green hydrogen production is associated with numerous technical risks and uncertainties, in part, due to the fact that experience and field data on large scale units is not available yet for many of the technologies out there. Among other things, such as a lack of off-take agreements, this leads to hesitation when it comes to financing green hydrogen projects.” She said, “My presentation aimed to show that risk transfer solutions, such as Munich Re’s HySure^TM , aid de-risking. From personal experience, I can tell that the topic of insurance and insurability of an emerging technology is often only really recognized when it is urgently needed. By speaking on these topics regularly, I aim to raise people’s awareness of what I believe is a significant lever for widespread electrolysis deployment.”

Green hydrogen production has a great potential for decarbonization. But there are some uncertainties involved with this production that can cause complications leading to a hesitation to work with it. Ebner’s work with green hydrogen has extended past simply raising awareness for this technology but also working on increasing the visibility of women in this sector as a volunteer for Women in Green Hydrogen (WiGH). WiGH’s mission is to foster diversity and increase the visibility of women in green hydrogen. Ebner said, “Personally, I fully support that mission, making this network of passionate women a natural fit for me. Currently, I volunteer for WiGH’s events team and take part in the mentoring program. Furthermore, I am personally very inspired by Prof. Jasna Jankovic’s work in academia and beyond, so I was more than excited to accept her invitation to UConn.”

Prof. Jankovic, who is also involved with WiGH, coordinated with Ebner on visiting C2E2 to share her experiences working in reinsurance and green hydrogen. “I invited [Ebner] to come and visit UConn after connecting with her at the Electrochemical Society (ECS) Conference last year. I wanted her to share her experience in the Hydrogen Industry with students. She is bringing an uncommon aspect to the industry, working in insurance and clean energy, which is a relatively new aspect.”

“I am always happy to share my unique perspective as an electrochemist in the insurance world and exchange and discuss with others to learn about their viewpoints and insights.” Ebner said.  “Presenting at UConn’s Center for Clean Energy Engineering and even more so, the conversations that followed, allowed me to do just that.”