Politics and Law

At the North Sea Summit in Hamburg BDEW and AquaVentus are calling for stronger European cooperation in offshore wind expansion—and for the systematic integration of offshore electrolysis into national and regional planning. Studies show that lower spatial density, cross-border area cooperation and combined infrastructure solutions can significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency.

A new study in the context of a German innovation testbed shows: The market ramp-up of green hydrogen is hindered by a complex cycle of obstacles including regulation, lack of economic viability, and infrastructure problems. The analysis is based on discussions at an event called„NRL Transformation Labs“.

Automobile manufacturers are to reduce the emissions of their vehicle fleets by 90 percent by 2035. The remaining ten percent can be compensated with e-fuels and green steel from Europe. Hydrogen Europe hopes for a new lead market for climate-friendly steel.

For hydrogen to be able to be used as an important part of the energy transition comprehensively in industry, mobility and energy supply in Germany, new lines must be built and existing natural gas pipelines must also be upgraded for hydrogen transport. This can be challenging, as hydrogen is explosive and attacks the materials of the pipes. Professional material testing creates the necessary security regarding this.

Two projects from partners of the trinational hydrogen network 3H2 receive funding from the state program ELY. Electrolysers with a total capacity of 2 MW are to be built in Achern and Kehl. The goal is to establish regional hydrogen hubs.

When the European Hydrogen Bank’s first pilot auction (Innovation Fund Auction IF23) was announced on Sept. 5, 2023, it drew much attention. April 30, 2024, then saw the publication of the results for the pilot auction, for which the European Union was making EUR 800 million of support available. Seven projects from northern and southern Europe were successful in obtaining funding. The aim of the hydrogen auction is to accelerate the rollout of green hydrogen and send price signals by narrowing the cost gap between green and fossil-based hydrogen.

The European Commission is allocating nearly 720 million euros to seven projects for renewable hydrogen in Europe. Together, the involved stakeholders aim to produce 1.58 million tons of renewable hydrogen over ten years, thereby avoiding more than 10 million tons of CO2 emissions. Of the selected...