Ready4H2 at the European Hydrogen Week 2024

The illustrious Ready4H2 office team (Director Barbara Jinks and assistant Sebastien Charie) are happy to be at the EU Hydrogen Week in Brussels this week. The busy annual conference and exhibition is hosted by one of our project partners, Hydrogen Europe, together with the European Commission and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.
The growing range of speakers and exhibitors at the event from all parts of the supply chain and several continents is impressive and reflects an industry that is developing, albeit slower than is needed to contribute meaningfully to decarbonising Europe’s energy. 

The conference was upbeat, but cautious: 

• Member States need to cooperate more and work towards enhancing competitiveness.
• The focus has shifted from production to demand (the Industrial Clean Deal was recognised as reflecting this).
• European Commission bureaucracy is too heavy.
• The need for new energy storage when stockpiles of oil and gas are reduced, and the role of hydrogen as replacement energy storage, is not well understood by policy makers.
• Despite a recent rise in funding for the Hydrogen Bank bringing the total to €2 Bn, this figure needs to be 10 times larger to make a significant difference. 

Gas distribution grids were hardly mentioned, nor their role as fast, cost-effective delivery of hydrogen throughout their 2.4 million km-long European network. Ready4H2 still has work to do to raise the awareness of this essential and distinct link in the clean energy chain.