Europe needs hydrogen market debate to ensure technology leadership – energy industry
Clean Energy Wire
Europe must debate a framework to ramp-up a hydrogen economy on the continent as a key element of its move towards climate neutrality, said German energy industry association BDEW. “There needs to be a regulatory framework for the market and a corresponding design of access to the infrastructures,” said the lobby group in a discussion paper. Until now, there has been a lack of a genuine business case for the different elements of a hydrogen market, said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae in a press briefing. While Germany and the EU have introduced several support measures, a regulatory framework had yet to be set, she argued. “We should therefore have a European market design debate – similar to that for electricity and natural gas.” The paper says state support will be necessary for some time, and Andreae emphasised that blue hydrogen – made from fossil gas where the CO2 is captured and stored or used – is necessary for a transition period. Among other things, BDEW calls for a hydrogen law to be implemented at the national level, and for the introduction of uniform standards and certification.
BDEW and other experts say that green hydrogen made from renewable electricity is a key energy source for a future climate-neutral energy system. It can play an important role, for example, in hard-to-decarbonise industry processes. The market ramp-up presents an opportunity for the industry in Germany and the rest of Europe to become a technological pioneer and leader in a field which will be vital in global energy transition efforts. “We have the chance to take the lead in hydrogen technology,” said Andreae.
The energy industry lobby group sees four phases for the development of the hydrogen market: state support and regulatory flexibility were needed in an initial phase this and next year. “2023 is the crucial year,” Kirsten Westphal, member of the executive board at BDEW, said. This would be followed by a build-up phase until the early 2030s in which a core hydrogen grid is built and first import contracts are set up. The formative phase from 2035-2040 will then establish a market-based hydrogen economy in which state support would end. In the target phase around 2040, a market for hydrogen (and its derivatives would be established in Europe and globally.
