In further strives to secure energy supplies and meet Net Zero targets, Europe has seen monumental policy moves that could fast-track the production and use of hydrogen on the continent.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen announced today (September 14) that the commission has created a new ‘European Hydrogen Bank’ to invest €3bn ($2.9bn) to help develop the hydrogen market.
President von der Leyen announced the news at the annual State of the European Union speech where she told the European Parliament, that this was how the economy of the future will be built.
“Hydrogen can change the situation completely for Europe. We need to move from a niche market to a mass market for hydrogen,” said von der Leyen, “With REPowerEU we have renewed our goals. We want to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year by 2030. To achieve that, we need to create a new hydrogen market to fill the investment gap, and to match supply and demand for the future.
“Today, I will be announcing that we have created a new European Hydrogen Bank. This will help to guarantee the supply of hydrogen. Using money from the innovation fund, it will be able to invest €3bn to help to construct a future hydrogen market. That is how we will build the economy of the future. That is the green deal.”
Additionally, earlier today, the European Parliament voted to commit to an ambitious binding renewable energy target, as well as simplifying the regulatory framework. The plenary vote on the Renewable Energy Directive II (REDII) has committed the parliament to an overall renewable energy contribution of 45% to the total energy mix by 2030.
In May the European Commission unveiled its REPowerEUplan which will see the EU strive to achieve a supply of 20 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, with 10 million to be produced domestically, and importing the remaining 10 million tonnes.
Industry reaction
Hydrogen industry association, Hydrogen Europe has praised the moves, with its CEO saying it was a historic day for the sector. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, said, “This is yet another historical day for the hydrogen sector in Europe and globally.
“These binding targets on renewable hydrogen, and the creation of a simpler framework, are strong signals from the EU institutions to ensure the scale up of a hydrogen economy and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. We need to bring production and demand into a right balance, and the new European Hydrogen Bank is the right instrument under which to do so.”
Eugene McKenna, Hydrogen Strategy Director at Johnson Matthey, said the formation of the new bank will encourage countries to invest in hydrogen.
“The hydrogen bank should reduce cost and risk for countries looking to invest in and build hydrogen ecosystems. Given we have key existing technology to contribute to and enable this ecosystem buildout, this is a significant step, especially at a time when Europe faces an unprecedented energy crisis,” said McKenna.