Europe in push to meet growing demand for hydrogen

European Commission, Hydrogen Europe, and relevant companies signed a joint declaration to set out a strategy to double the previous EU renewable hydrogen target to 10 million tonnes of annual domestic production and an additional 10 million tons of annual hydrogen imports.

U.S. fuel cell systems manufacturer Advent Technologies said in a statement it participated in the European Electrolyser Summit in Brussels. The European Commission organised this event in cooperation with Hydrogen Europe. It took place under the auspices of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance.

Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, CEO of Hydrogen Europe Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, and 20 CEOs and executives representing companies including Advent, Bosch, Convion, Cummins, De Nora, Elogen, Enapter, Genvia, Green Hydrogen Systems, Helbio, H2B2, HyStar, John Cockerill, McPhy, Nel Hydrogen, Siemens Energy, SOLIDpower, Sunfire, Thyssenkrupp nucera and Topsoe signed a joint declaration.

This declaration establishes a goal of paving the way towards achieving the objectives of the REPowerEU’s proposed Hydrogen Accelerator, which sets out a strategy to double the previous EU renewable hydrogen target to ten million tons of annual domestic production and an additional ten million tons of annual hydrogen imports.

Therefore, Europe’s electrolyser manufacturers agreed to increase their manufacturing capacity in an effort to have, by 2025, a combined annual electrolyser manufacturing capacity in Europe of 17.5 GW, as well as to further increase that capacity by 2030 in line with projected demand for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen.

In addition, the joint declaration features the following pillars:

1. Regulatory framework; Ensuring a supportive regulatory framework through permitting rules and a commitment to stand up for the targets included in the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive and the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation Proposal.
2. Access to finance; Facilitating access to finance by revamping the Innovation Fund to be inclusive of zero and low-carbon equipment manufacturing such as electrolysers. In addition, accessing state aid to de-risk investments and putting in place carbon contracts for difference to further incentivize the large-scale deployment of clean hydrogen technologies.
3. Supply chain integration; Integrating supply chains by expanding research and development and ensuring the availability of required components and materials at the required scale.

Vasilis Gregoriou, Advent’s CEO, stated: “Today marked an important milestone for ensuring Europe’s long-term energy self-sufficiency and significantly reducing its reliance on fossil fuels. To achieve the goals outlined in the joint declaration that we signed today, the European electrolyser manufacturing sector needs to enhance collaboration to ramp up electrolyser production to approximately 25 GW per year with an installed electrolyser capacity of 90-100 GW.”

“We all recognize this as a challenge but also as a significant industrial opportunity that can positively contribute to Europe’s transition to clean energy at a far faster rate than ever before. Advent is highly honored to be part of this joint commitment, and we are delighted to see the Commission supporting the industry’s goal to boost electrolyser manufacturing.”