European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck discussed the idea of enhancing the global hydrogen ramp-up by linking the new European Hydrogen Bank with Germany’s H2Global best-practice initiative. As part of a Team Europe approach, H2Global will be open to all EU governments interested in setting up hydrogen tenders. Together with the European Hydrogen Bank, the H2Global foundation will also work on a joint European auction open to all EU countries, to make a visible contribution to international hydrogen imports.
“Hydrogen is key for the full decarbonisation of our energy system, alongside energy efficiency, renewables and electrification,” commented Commissioner Simson. “The EU’s renewable hydrogen policy has developed rapidly in recent years and the RePowerEU Plan has given it a definite boost. I am glad to see that Germany is the first mover in setting up an international auction. We are ready to build on this experience and develop the first European auction with the European Hydrogen Bank, open to all EU countries.”
“Germany is set to invest more than 5 billion euros towards international hydrogen purchases in the forthcoming years,” added Minister Habeck. “The first auctions are already taking place. This encouraging model is open to international partners. I therefore strongly welcome the idea of joining forces and making H2Global an integral part of the European Hydrogen Bank.”
One of the central elements of REPowerEU is the market ramp-up of hydrogen: by 2030, the European Commission aims for the EU to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen and to import another 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen from third countries. So far, the EU has saved almost 20 per cent of its gas consumption, doubled the additional deployment of renewables and replaced 80 per cent of Russian pipeline gas.
