Politics and Law

On September 15, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) of Germany published the “Monitoring Report” on the energy transition. Minister Katherina Reiche also presented ten steps to improve the economic viability. When it comes to hydrogen, fixed targets appear to be a thing of the past. Instead, the ministry is taking a “flexible” and “technology-neutral” approach. Reiche speaks of aligning with demand and market needs. She ignores the necessity, outlined in the report, of first building up this demand.

This is the unanimous demand of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) and the AquaVentus Förderverein, whose goal is to produce green hydrogen directly at sea using offshore wind energy and transport it to shore via pipeline. Transport via pipelines is described as a cost-effective, fast and environmentally friendly solution.

Hydrogen Europe has published a position paper on the European Commission’s planned Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP). The association is calling for targeted support measures to accelerate the scale-up of hydrogen in the transport sector – particularly in aviation, shipping and heavy-duty transport.

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.

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...

The decision has finally come. In mid-February 2024, the European Commission approved 24 German IPCEI projects aka Important Projects of Common European Interest. Within the framework of IPCEI Hydrogen, funding is granted to large-scale projects across the entire hydrogen value chain – from H₂ production and transportation to storage infrastructure and industrial deployment.