EU Commission Publishes H2 Strategy

Hydrogen Essential for Climate-Neutral Europe

On July 8, 2020, the EU Commission published its Hydrogen Strategy for 2050. In it, the Commission aims for an increase in the share of H2 in the European energy mix from the current 2% to 13-14%. For the necessary expansion of generation capacities, the EU Commission has stated that it is focusing on the climate-neutral production of hydrogen using electrolysers powered by renewable energies.

By 2024, the installed capacity of electrolysers in Europe is to be increased by at least six gigawatts. In this phase, the production of electrolysers – including large ones with a capacity of 100 megawatts – must be significantly ramped up.

In the second phase, which the EU sets from 2025 – 2030, hydrogen is to become an essential component of an integrated energy system. The amount of hydrogen provided with the help of an electrolysis capacity of at least 40 gigawatts is to reach 10 million tons annually by 2030.

In the third phase, from 2030 to 2050, hydrogen production should have reached a level of maturity that allows for large-scale deployment, for example in the steel and chemical industries, which could not be decarbonized to the required extent without H2 use.

The EU Commission estimates that the costs for the production, storage and transport of hydrogen will amount to 180 – 470 billion Euros by 2050.

In its strategy paper, the EU Commission describes the framework conditions for the success of this strategy, ranging from increasing demand to raising production capacities and the logistics of storing and distributing H2 to the end customer.

This requires an increase in research activities along the entire value chain. To this end, the EU will distribute billions of Euros in funding through a variety of individual programs in the coming years.

The complete strategy paper of the EU Commission can be found here.

Title photo: flickr / openDemocracy, Kalypso Nikolaidis – EU, License here