© European Union

During European Hydrogen Week, beginning of December 2021 in Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reaffirmed the role of Europe as leading in the expansion towards greater production of clean hydrogen. She explained to the nearly 2,000 registered participants, “This is without doubt a global undertaking, but I want Europe to lead the race.”

In addition to numerous lectures and discussions by high-ranking speakers, several EU Commissioners and numerous company heads, the establishment of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership was center stage. The Partnership will be assuming all the activities of the FCH JU, the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. The European Council adopted the Regulation for its establishment on November 19th, 2021. The aim is to accelerate the development and introduction of a European value chain for clean H2 technologies. For this purpose, the EU is making 1 billion euros available for the period 2021 to 2027, which is to be augmented by private investments of at least the same amount. Together with the Hydrogen Alliance, the goals of the EU hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe are to be implemented in this way. The focus is on the production, distribution and storage of clean hydrogen, especially in those sectors that are otherwise difficult to decarbonize, for example heavy industry and heavy transport.

“We have to scale up clean hydrogen production, expand its applications, and create a virtuous circle where demand and supply feed each other and bring the prices down… Clean hydrogen is the energy of the next generation.”

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission