Germany facilitates green hydrogen production at sea with new regulation

Regulation that will enable green hydrogen production in the North Sea entered into force on 1 October. With the new ordinance, the German government facilitates the testing of hydrogen production using offshore electricity, such as offshore wind energy, in the German exclusive economic zone. “The production of green hydrogen at sea is a genuine future topic with high innovation potential. Offshore hydrogen production can make an important contribution to decarbonising Germany as an industrial location,” said German economic affairs minister Peter Altmaier. Germany has launched a first project that promotes offshore hydrogen production. The H2Mare project, which is to receive 100 million euros in funding from the research ministry, aims to achieve “a significant cost advantage in the production of large quantities of hydrogen” in the coming four years, the ministry writes.

The Offshore Wind Energy Foundation welcomed the new regulation, calling it a “necessary and important step” on the way to offshore-based hydrogen production, even though “it is still unclear in the evaluation criteria what role the logistics concept for bringing the hydrogen onshore plays in the allocation,” said Karina Würtz, the head of the foundation. “With a view to the coming federal government, it is now clear that more and further steps are urgently needed, such as the binding definition of expansion targets and the sufficient designation of areas for green hydrogen production,” she said.