The European #Hydrogen House under construction

Europeans are building the House of Hydrogen symbolising the European H2 Economy. Since the adoption of the European H2 Strategy in June 2020, there have been enormous, unprecedented and disruptive changes. The outbreak of the pandemic threatened to collapse the European Green Deal. Hydrogen and the possibility to decarbonise molecules was seen as an opportunity to reconcile jobs and the environment. The attack on Ukraine opened up the opportunity to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels. Europe led the #hydrogen debate for a long time until the rest of the world recognised and used the geostrategic opportunities of these upheavals. This culminated in the presentation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with gigantic government support for clean tech such as hydrogen.

Who will be the global champion for hydrogen? Or to put it another way: How many champions will we have globally and will Europe finally be among them?

In this exact situation the Europeans started building their European Hydrogen House. Crucial parts of the fa?ade are now visible as European legislators have already agreed on basic minimum targets.

?? 42% of hydrogen used in?#industry?should come from renewable hydrogen and its derivatives by 2030 and 60% by 2035.?

??For?#transport, there is a combined target of 5.5% of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives together with advanced?#biofuels?as of 2030. Within this target there is a minimum requirement of 1% of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives.?

Thus, the industrial sector and the sector of fuels are obliged to switch considerably to renewable or decarbonised hydrogen. Expected volumes here will be up to 5 million t per year, depending on how quickly the steel sector can convert to the Direct Reduction of Iron ore via H2 (DRI).

Of course, one can always argue about ambitions, are they too low or even to high. There are those who had expected higher obligatory targets. There are those for whom even these 5 million tons are too high. Realistically, it's an excellent starting point for boosting production via mandatory minimum targets. This applies both to hydrogen that is produced in Europe and to hydrogen that is imported. Both are needed in the same way. It is clearly foreseeable that Europe will become a net importer given its production capabilities.

The #steel sector will play a crucial role in the ramp-up of the hydrogen strategy, since it will consume large volumes to decarbonise this heavy industry. The steel sector is therefore a key pacesetter. And this is where Europe's role as a global leader in hydrogen needs to be proven: can we manage to equip our heavy industry with enough funding and financing so that it can make the decisive technical changes (CAPEX)? Can we manage to carry out this technical conversion quickly? Can we manage to align the infrastructure so that the steel companies have access to a cheap supply of renewable produced and possibly imported hydrogen? Can we make sure that green hydrogen will be available affordably (OPEX)?

The course has been set, now the decisive steps must be taken. We started to build up the European Hydrogen House! Let’s make it big and liveable!