Hydrogen strategy in danger: EU goals until 2030 unreachable?

Hydrogen strategy in danger: EU goals until 2030 unreachable?

Bonn, Deutschland - hydrogen is viewed as a key technology for European energy transition and climate neutrality. Today it is considered a crucial element that stores excess electricity from renewable energies and provides energy density for difficult to electrify sectors such as industry. Despite these positive aspects, however, hurdles such as high costs, sluggish investments and geopolitical uncertainties brake the market stroke. This presents the European Union with great challenges, especially in the ambitious goals for hydrogen until 2030, which according to uni-bonn.de difficult to reach.

The report "H2 Reality Check" by Cassis (University of Bonn) and EWI (University of Cologne) examines the techno-economic and geopolitical aspects of the hydrogen market. It shows that the EU wants to achieve an electrolysis capacity of 40 gigawatts as well as the production and import of 10 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030. But the implementation of the national strategies and funding programs in the Member States.

challenges in the hydrogen sector

global analyzes indicate that the demand for hydrogen could be lower than originally assumed. Green hydrogen will probably not be competitive with blue hydrogen by 2030, while the production costs have not decreased due to increasing material and labor costs as well as delays in the infrastructure. Forecasts show that future hydrogen prices may be higher than the willingness to pay for industry. This situation could reduce the import requirements and the geopolitical risks for Europe, as the report states.

The geopolitical analysis also emphasizes the dependence of the EU on imports of strategic minerals and electrolysis technologies from China. Cassis recommends that the EU should reconcile the import strategies of raw materials and technologies with their need for stable hydrogen supply. At the same time, Cassis calls for a holistic concept for EU energy and raw materials security.

global impulses of the energy transition

The conversion of the global energy system to combat climate change already shows positive effects on human security. The electrification reduces the dependence on fossil raw materials and improves access to energy. According to swp-berlin.org , around 300 billion euros were invested in renewable energies worldwide, in contrast to 700 billion euros in oil and gas. This transformation will lead to a system change and recall the value chains.

It is crucial that key technologies are promoting energy transformation and economic growth. The sector coupling between electricity, heat and mobility sector is considered future-oriented. The energy transition has the potential to change the role of states as producers and consumers, but also carries new risks, especially in terms of network stability and cyber security. European politics is required to actively accompany these developments and promote international cooperation in order to successfully master the challenges of the energy transition.