Ready4H2 project Director Barbara Jinks and Assistant Aloma Reus attended the Clean Hydrogen Forum organised this week (under the Clean Hydrogen Alliance) in Antwerp. They joined policymakers, industry representatives, financial institutions and energy institutes to discuss and assess the state of the hydrogen economy in Europe. There was a general sense of optimism and understanding that the hydrogen economy is developing, although it may not be obvious in all sectors; it was clear that significant progress has been made in hydrogen in Europe (MW electrolyser plants v earlier kW, and the hydrogen Bank auctions seeing 6 x the bids v funding capacity), but major challenges remain to be resolved before the sector can scale at the speed required for industrial transformation and EU’s climate targets.
Key takeaways include:
- Most hydrogen demand is not in the form of energy, and ports that were previously targeted to import hydrogen are now becoming major industrial sites and trading hubs.
- The technology of hydrogen is regarded as relatively low risk from a developer’s perspective; what is more important is relying on third parties for infrastructure connections, hydrogen demand overtime and project bankability, especially longer term 20 yrs+. In addition, smaller projects may be more successful earlier, because you can manage your risks better, build trust with the community and make a clearer business case.
- Low carbon hydrogen is seen as essential for the ramp up and easier to facilitate, whereas green hydrogen requires more political support. In addition hybrid gas/electricity end appliances will be important in the early stages until renewable electricity is ramped up.
- The delay in the transposition of the EU Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Package, is creating regulatory uncertainty and slowing project deployment. (This is something that Ready4H2 is exploring through its webinar series on the status of H2 developments in the country members.)
- Hydrogen valleys, industrial clusters and cross-border infrastructure, plus electrolyser ramp-up, are key enablers for connecting supply with demand and accelerating market development.
The discussions demonstrated that Europe's hydrogen economy is entering a crucial phase where implementation and market creation must now match political ambition, highlighting the need for a stronger coordination between policy, industry, and finance to accelerate deployment.
