In autumn 2023 as well, the Hydrogen Technology Expo was again the event you had to be at. For the third time in a row, the British organizer Trans-Global Events Ltd was able to dramatically increase the number of exhibitors as well as visitors – which is why the trade fair halls of the Hanseatic city on the Weser (Bremen) will no longer be sufficient in 2024. The move to Hamburg this year is therefore inevitable and had been predicted early on by H2-international (see H2-international Feb. 2023).
The trend is unmistakable: More and more companies from the mechanical engineering, electrical and chemical industries are flooding the hydrogen market. Accordingly, a large number of completely new exhibitors could be found in the four trade fair halls in Bremen. Among them were numerous unknown names, but also heavyweights such as Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil or ITM Power.
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After 180 exhibitors in the first and 350 in the second year, this time there were over 550 – in 2024, there should be at least 100 more. The number of visitors increased from 5,000 in the previous year to over 10,000.
Moving towards mass production
Companies like the chemicals corporation Gore had explicitly “chosen this trade show in Europe” because “Europe is furthest along.” Nouchine Humbert, Global Marketing Director of W.L. Gore, told H2-international, “This is a market where we expect strong growth.” Referred to is particularly the electrolysis sector, because in comparison fuel cells need “many more square meters than electrolyzers.”
Sufficient production capacity is available to the North American company – in Japan. The production lines there are enough for another five years, asserted Rainer Enggruber, director of the division PEM/water/electrolysis products. Gigawatt announcements are therefore not a challenge for the membrane manufacturer, it was confidently stated.
New tubular reactor
An innovation was shown by the Hebmüller Group. Sales director Marc Hebmüller presented the prototype of the HydroGenMHD (see Fig. 1), an H2 generation device from One Scientific of Johnson City, Tennessee. The company Hebmüller is the European licensee of the US system developer that developed this compact tubular catalyst, in whose magnetohydrodynamic chamber hydrogen is generated upon splitting off of oxygen from water vapor.
Marc Hebmüller explained: “This innovative technology employs a unique system where superheated steam is subjected to a catalyst and intense magnetic fields generated through the MHD process. These magnetic fields induce controlled plasma dynamics within the feedstock, facilitating the dissociation of molecules into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas.”
Stack based on circuit boards
A completely new concept for the production of fuel cells was presented by Bramble Energy: a fuel cell stack based on printed circuit board technology. The British company founded in 2017 relies here on the plastic FR4, which provides the necessary stability, and copper as a heat as well as electricity conductor. Between two circuit boards is one membrane each, which means that bipolar plates can be dispensed with entirely. Instead, a monopolar plate constitutes a single cell, of which several are then stacked.
The technology readiness level Carsten Pohlmann, director for business development (see Fig. 2), puts at TRL 9, and the price per kilowatt at 100 USD. First tests in a Renault demonstrator and with a 100 kW system for a double-decker bus are already underway.
Carsten Pohlmann presented in Bremen for the first time the circuit board cell from Bramble
The next Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe will take place October 23 and 24, 2024 on the fairgrounds of Messe Hamburg. It therefore will overlap by one day with WindEnergy.
The Apex Group is expanding its management team from five to six people. Starting the new year, Axel Funke will be chief technology officer, and will be responsible for the division project handling and engineering. The 58-year-old mechanical engineer has been active in plant engineering for 30 years, and previously worked for companies such as Bilfinger, Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions and Linde. He directed, among other things, large international projects in the energy sector and, for example, while at Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions participated in the planning and design of the project HyLIOS, which included the delivery of a 2.2‑GW electrolyzer to Neom, Saudi Arabia.
Apex has belonged for one year to the Exceet Group. Roland Lienau, chairman of Exceet, said: “Following the recent appointment of Bert Althaus as CFO, the management is now staffed across all areas with top personnel. Also on the operational side, Apex has hired more than 20 engineers since the acquisition by Exceet in January 2023. We are therefore equipped to realize our growth strategy.”
The current situation of the German government appears to be a state of desolation: The constitutional court did not play along as hoped – albeit by the narrowest of margins – and has awarded the Ampel Coalition a 60-billion-euro gap in the budget.
Out of this, a desolate situation for the energy industry could also rise, since many projects that were to be financed via the planned fund for climate action and clean energy Klima- und Transformationsfonds (KTF) have come into question, justifiably or not. The uncertainty is great.
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The situation beforehand was already tense. Decisions from Brussels, for example, have had a long wait time. This was the case with the EU energy directive RED II, RED III and also the IPCEI projects – even though RED III was published on October 31, 2023. If things go well, at the end of the year still, the 37th ordinance on the implementation of the German emissions reduction act (37th BImSchV) could be updated – after twelve years.
This waiting has not exactly encouraged many investors to make their money available for projects for the future. The FID (final investment decision) especially for numerous electrolysis projects is still pending, because the framework conditions are not seen as sufficiently secure.
Not without reason, numerous companies took part in the tender for the Important Projects of Common European Interest. In doing so, they are relying on EU member state funds to reduce their own financial risk.
The price they have to pay for these “gifted” state funds is that they have to abide by the giver’s rules. It also means that they have to put up with it when a decision takes longer in Brussels.
The loud lamentation therefore has a bit of hypocrisy to it, since after all nobody forced them to apply for an IPCEI. They could all have started much earlier on such projects, even at their own risk. But now some of them are sitting there complaining that their originally planned IPCEI project is no longer viable in the form applied for, although it was they themselves who had decided to take this path.
Again and again in this context have there been warnings that companies based in Germany could move abroad to where the framework conditions are supposedly better. Perhaps there are individual companies that will actually take this step. Exactly what their motives are, we will probably never know, but it should be clear that such a decision does not depend solely on the processing time in Brussels but is multifactorial.
And yes, one or two projects will probably never be realized – for whatever reason. Westküste100 is such a project. As a real-world lab it has done valuable work, but “H2 Westküste GmbH will not make a positive investment decision for the planned electrolyzer” can be read on their homepage. And “The reason for it is especially the increased investment costs.”
That may hurt one or the other player, since such a scenario may also threaten other projects. But isn’t it better to stop a recognizably uneconomical project at the right time than to desperately hold on to it and to go through with it against your better judgment? Isn’t it better to acknowledge the altered framework conditions by the now two wars and current energy emergency, and to recalculate?
Because Westküste100 won’t continue does not mean that the energy transition has been canceled, that we are not switching to renewable energies and hydrogen after all. Just because a few companies will produce elsewhere in the future does not mean that value creation will no longer take place in Germany.
The political commitment is there: German economy minister Robert Habeck as well as numerous minister-presidents of the federal states recently emphasized the enormous importance of H2 projects in particular. In addition, a startup scene has now established itself in Germany, which is pushing its way onto the market with new, innovative ideas. Here, investors are called to recognize their potential and make advance investments now at their own risk – without subsidies.
I don’t want to refer to the American e-car manufacturer again, but there exist – even in Europe – players who with a little instinct or a lot of money can make new technologies marketable at the right time.
The energy transition is a gigantic challenge – for everyone. Who, if not Germany, would be better placed to exemplarily show the way and offer suitable products? Instead of seeing the enormous potential that lies in this global upheaval, however, many in this country remain stuck in “German Angst.” It’s bad enough that this term (according to Wikipedia, “typical German hesitancy”) is now commonplace around the world.
The motto should therefore be: “Recognize and leverage potentials to shape a sustainable future together.”
Since August 2023, the German hydrogen and fuel cell association (Deutscher Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellen-Verband e.V., DWV) has been represented by Werner Diwald alone again. Thorsten Kasten, the representative dispatched by the German association for gas and water standards (Deutscher Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches e.V., DVGW), left the DWV board and with that also his seat as co-chairman of the board. According to the report from the DWV, the restructuring and professionalization measures of the past two years are hence concluded.
The DVGW and DWV had at times approached each other in the past years in order to more closely cooperate (see H2-international Jan. 2019), which coalesced among other things in a “successful establishment of the field office” as well as a “highly effective team” in Berlin, according to the DWV. The two associations will continue to work together, it was said. But the collaboration will certainly not be as close without Kasten’s role.
Coordination was hard enough when there were “only” four German ministries dealing with hydrogen – now there are six involved in updating the national hydrogen strategy, plus the chancellery. This participation of so many different departments is surely conclusive proof that hydrogen has become a key plank in the energy transition.
“Being a versatile energy carrier, hydrogen will assume a key role in achieving our ambitious energy and climate targets.” This statement shows the German government’s recognition of hydrogen’s immense importance in the future energy supply and in tackling the climate crisis. It’s for good reason that, three years after the national hydrogen strategy was adopted in June 2020, a redraft has now been approved with content and targets adjusted to match changed conditions.
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The update to the national hydrogen strategy, which was enacted by the federal cabinet in July 2023, has, in the government’s words, “created a coherent framework for action for the entire hydrogen value chain – from production to transport through deployment and reuse.” The strategy, also referred to as the NWS, is designed to ensure certainty in financial planning, which provides the foundation for future investment, so that the market for green hydrogen technologies can be successfully ramped up.
At the same time, the NWS recalls that the creation of a hydrogen economy is “a task for the whole of society” whose success “requires contribution from all stakeholders.”
“Hydrogen technologies are not only an important instrument for climate change mitigation. They can enable the creation of new branches of industry with a large number of viable long-term jobs and extensive export opportunities. […] The NWS will thus also help German industry retain and further expand its strong position in hydrogen technologies.”
German government
Specific targets defined
The main 2030 targets outlined in the NWS focus on achieving an accelerated ramp-up of hydrogen and securing sufficient availability of hydrogen and its derivatives. Accordingly, the previous goal of 5 gigawatts of electrolyzer capacity has been raised to at least 10 gigawatts. Remaining demand will be covered by imports which will be the subject of a specially developed import strategy.
What’s more, effective hydrogen infrastructure is to be put place. According to the plans, a hydrogen starter network stretching across more than 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) will be got underway by 2027/2028 and supported by funding from Brussels. The network will be composed, in part, of repurposed natural gas pipes as well as newly constructed hydrogen lines. It will form a key part of the European Hydrogen Backbone which will involve hydrogen pipelines covering a total length of around 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles).
In addition, various hydrogen applications are to be established in different industries – in the power and industrial sectors, in heavy-duty vehicles as well as in aviation and shipping. To allow this to happen, the intention is to create suitable framework conditions, specifically planning and approvals procedures, appropriate standards and certification systems. The stated aim is for Germany to become the leading supplier of hydrogen technologies by 2030.
“We have once again significantly upped the level of ambition.”
German economy minister Robert Habeck
“Hydrogen is the missing piece in the energy transition puzzle. It offers a huge opportunity to join up energy security, net-zero and competitiveness.”
German education and research minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger
“The global market for hydrogen must be fair and different than how the global fossil fuel industry once was.”
German development minister Svenja Schulze
The German government has now departed from its original approach of only financing green hydrogen through tax revenue, a move that has been particularly welcomed, unsurprisingly, by the gas lobby. Other colors of hydrogen are now also set to receive subsidies, albeit only to a limited degree and under certain conditions defined in the small print.
The update to the NWS states: “We also intend to fund the use of green and, insofar as it is needed in the ramp-up phase, low-carbon blue, turquoise and orange hydrogen on the deployment side to a limited extent while taking into account ambitious greenhouse gas limits, including emissions in the upstream chain and the ability to meet statutory net-zero targets.”
Bettina Stark-Watzinger, German education and research minister, called this a “pragmatic and technologically unbiased” decision that allows initial use of “all climate-friendly types of hydrogen.” This, she explains, will help Germany on its way to becoming a hydrogen nation.
Her colleague, German development minister Svenja Schulze, went one step further by saying: “Wherever wind and solar power is produced for hydrogen, momentum will be given to the energy transition at ground level and the local population will be supplied with electricity. And wherever seawater is desalinated for hydrogen, the nearest town will be supplied with drinking water. From a development perspective it’s clear: Hydrogen from renewables is not only the best choice for the environment, it is a cost-effective domestic energy source that also leads to better development in the Global South. We will therefore help our partner countries have a fair share of involvement in the new international market for hydrogen.”
Existing structures remain
To allow all this to happen, recourse is being made to existing institutions. For example, a “hydrogen guidance center” has already been set up that enables inquirers to receive advice on funding by phone or email. The committee of state secretaries for hydrogen acts as a decision-making body for the NWS and takes corrective action where necessary. It meets on a case-by-case basis as and when needed, which in the past was only rarely. The central body is the National Hydrogen Council, an independent, cross-party advisory committee with 26 high-ranking experts from industry, academia and civil society. The council is supported by the Coordination Office for Hydrogen.
Chair of the National Hydrogen Council, Katherina Reiche, explained: “It is an important milestone that the German government is ambitiously extending its national hydrogen strategy. […] Only hydrogen allows us to maintain value chains and ensure that key industries remain in Germany. […] Companies only invest if they have long-term planning certainty. We must therefore already look beyond 2030. According to council forecasts, the need for hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives will, by 2045, have risen to between 964 and 1,364 terawatt-hours. The Inflation Reduction Act in the USA and similar regulations around the world will accelerate the development of comprehensive value chains on an industrial scale. In view of rapid progress made in other countries, the German government should move away from exclusively focusing on flagship projects. What is more important is to create effective incentives to quickly scale the hydrogen economy and the development of new business models.”
On the subject of the – at times – fierce debate about the use of hydrogen in the heating sector, the council said that it endorses municipal heating plans as a crucial planning tool for encouraging the heating sector to shift away from fossil fuels. In its view, a successful transformation of the heating sector would require all technology options: heat pumps, heating networks, renewable heat and hydrogen. Thus all technologies should be granted equal footing as compliance options in Germany’s building energy law and be considered when undertaking infrastructure expansion.
The council added that rigorous training is needed for the specialist workforce required, both at university level and within the area of vocational training and continuing education.
Criticism and ideas for improvement
While the German government proudly unveiled the NWS update, the opposition, as expected, deems the 34-page document to be a flop. The CDU’s vice chairman, Andreas Jung, explained to German newspaper Tagesspiegel: “Hydrogen is so important for the economy and net-zero that it now needs a double-whammy.” Here Jung apes the “double-whammy” expression used by Chancellor Scholz when announcing his EUR 200 billion relief package to help with the cost of living. Jung’s criticism that the government was acting “halfheartedly” and would operate on the basis of “centrally controlled allocation” falls flat, however, since the targets set are highly ambitious and the NWS is ultimately only putting a framework in place – and does not include technical guidelines.
For example, it is understood that a “hydrogen acceleration law” will get off the ground this year to enable the installation of “further terminals only for hydrogen or its derivatives” as previously with LNG terminals. A “national port strategy” is expected to pinpoint the relevant hubs for the future hydrogen economy.
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, therefore believes Germany is on the right course to be able to achieve “the broad use of green hydrogen in industry and the heating sector within nine years.” However, he thinks specific improvement measures are necessary, for instance better integration of H2 Global into the EU’s hydrogen bank in order to leverage European Union tendering processes as well as off-take agreements for temporarily nationalized companies, such as Uniper, that can contribute toward security of supply.
Additionally, Chatzimarkakis sees the need to shorten the IPCEI approval times at EU level and in Germany. He also suggests launching an “EU tax credit club” for hydrogen – as a semi-response to the Inflation Reduction Act in the USA, which cannot be introduced in the EU in a similar form due to tax regulations.
Contributions to the NWS 2.0 were made by the following German government departments: the economy ministry, the transportation ministry, the education and research ministry, the environment ministry, the development ministry as well as the foreign office and the chancellery.
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