National Hydrogen Strategy: Key Element of the Energy Transition - But Also in Transportation?

The Federal Cabinet has decided to update the National Hydrogen Strategy. The cabinet decision was preceded by a political agreement of all departments, including the five key ministries for hydrogen, namely the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The National Hydrogen Strategy of 2020 remains fundamentally in place but will now be developed further with the update to match the increased ambition in climate protection and the new challenges in the energy market, announced the lead Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs. It sets governmental guidelines for the production, transport, and use of hydrogen and its derivatives and consolidates the measures of the federal government.A reliable supply of green, permanently sustainable hydrogen to Germany is the declared goal of the federal government. For the market ramp-up, "blue" hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas and where the resulting CO2 is to be pressed underground, a controversial technology - is also accepted. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) speaks of a "massive climate policy setback". Habeck, on the other hand, emphasized: "We promote green - and take everything." When building the infrastructure, something must also pass through it.

One-third could be produced in Germany

Habeck expects that Germany will produce about one-third itself, with the rest coming from imports. There are plans for a pipeline from Norway, as well as Portugal and Spain through France. A route from North Africa to Italy and southern Germany is also under discussion. 1,800 kilometers of pipelines are to be built by 2027/28, to connect large consumers such as the chemical and steel industries, which will not achieve defossilization without hydrogen. A funding approval was just handed over in North Rhine-Westphalia to Thyssen-Krupp for two billion euros to convert the steel plant in Duisburg to hydrogen.

“With the update of the National Hydrogen Strategy, we are setting the framework for the new phase in the hydrogen market ramp-up, which we have consistently initiated since the beginning of the government: From research and demonstration to large-scale production. Investments in hydrogen are an investment in climate protection, in qualified jobs, and in energy supply security. This update of the hydrogen strategy provides these investments with a reliable foundation. To successfully implement the strategy, we are also currently working at full speed to create the necessary infrastructure," explained the Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck (Green Party).

As a missing puzzle piece of the energy transition, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), sees the element. It could combine energy security, climate neutrality, and competitiveness. They want to create more clarity and planning security for the hydrogen economy at home and abroad and give all sectors equal access to hydrogen.

"Similarly pragmatic and open to technology, we have decided that we initially want to use all climate-friendly types of hydrogen," added Stark-Watzinger.

The Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Steffi Lemke (Green Party): "Hydrogen is an essential part of the energy transition and indispensable for successful climate protection. It is important that we design the market ramp-up of hydrogen sustainably and environmentally friendly from the beginning. Moreover, we should use hydrogen efficiently and economically where there are no better alternatives for decarbonization. Therefore, the federal government has set the goal in the update of the National Hydrogen Strategy of achieving a reliable supply of green, permanently sustainable hydrogen for Germany and committing to ambitious sustainability standards for hydrogen and its derivatives, both for domestic production and especially for imports."

Fairer than with fossils: Cleverly setting up the world market

The Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze (SPD), emphasized that the world market for hydrogen must be fair and "thus different from the fossil world economy ever was." Germany's message to partner countries is that they not only want to reliably import hydrogen but also help ensure that the new hydrogen supply chains lead to good, sustainable development.

"Where wind and solar power is produced for hydrogen, the energy transition is also being advanced locally and the local population is supplied with electricity. And where seawater is desalinated for hydrogen, the next city is also supplied with drinking water. From a development perspective, it is clear: Hydrogen from renewable energies is not only the best choice for the environment, it also leads to better development in the global South as a cheap domestic energy source. We will therefore support our partner countries to participate fairly in the new world market for hydrogen," emphasized Schulze.

The Federal Minister of Digital and Transport, Volker Wissing (FDP), also sees hydrogen and its derivatives as an important component for sustainable, climate-friendly mobility and a sensible complement to other alternative forms of propulsion. The use in the transport sector also contributes to the necessary scaling of the hydrogen economy, Wissing indicated, although the paper itself suggests much of the triumph of battery-electric mobility in passenger vehicles. For heavy trucks, ships, or airplanes, there is no alternative to hydrogen, Wissing emphasized. Consequently, the strategy includes many important measures for transport, such as the construction of a basic network of hydrogen filling stations, the promotion of renewable fuels, or the creation of the necessary framework conditions.

"We aim to specifically advance the use of hydrogen and the fuels produced from it as well as the availability of fuel cell vehicles, fuel cell components, and systems and their required infrastructures," Wissing continued.