In a letter to Friedrich Merz, 13 associations representing the energy, gas, water, hydrogen, steel, chemical, and automotive industries, as well as mechanical and plant engineering, appealed to him to establish a strategic hydrogen alliance at the European level in a future government.
Geopolitical power shifts and international competition for value creation pose major challenges for Europe and Germany. They require a strategic approach to secure energy and technological sovereignty and strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of our industrial location. Hydrogen plays a key role in this.
There is currently no coalition of states at the EU member state level to advance the hydrogen ramp-up. Together with twelve other associations, the BDEW therefore strongly recommends that Germany take the initiative at the government level to establish a hydrogen alliance with other EU member states. Europe now needs a strengthening of the Energy Union and the internal market. A hydrogen alliance can unleash new integrative power here and underpin Germany’s leading role.
New impetus for the hydrogen ramp-up
The next legislative period is the crucial window of opportunity to give new impetus to the hydrogen ramp-up in Europe. We therefore propose that the coalition agreement include a provision for Germany to establish a hydrogen alliance at the European level with other EU member states. All member states – regardless of their energy mix – that want to actively promote the fastest and most ambitious ramp-up possible should have an interest in a hydrogen alliance. To enable a broad-based ramp-up, the alliance should be open to all forms of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen. It could be used to advocate for an ambitious and implementation-oriented hydrogen policy in the Council of the EU and vis-à-vis the European Commission and Parliament. It could also serve as a vehicle for building closer bridges with strategically important non-EU partners, such as the United Kingdom and Norway, as well as other potential importing countries.
The Hydrogen Alliance can materialize quickly, as numerous concrete projects are pending: the revision of the delegated acts on renewable and low-carbon hydrogen to make them more practical, the commitment to a globally compatible certification system, the acceleration of the expansion of the hydrogen backbone and connecting corridors outside the EU, and the further strengthening of the EU Hydrogen Bank and other funding instruments.
The following associations are advocating for the inclusion of a strategic hydrogen alliance in Europe in the coalition agreement of the new federal government:
Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industries (BDEW)
German Gas and Water Association (VGW)
German Hydrogen Association (DWV)
figawa e,V.
Association of Gas Transmission System Operators
THE GAS AND HYDROGEN INDUSTRY
Hydrogen Europe
Steel Industry Association (WV Stahl)
German Chemical Industry Association (VCI)
German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)
VDMA
Association of Industrial Energy and Power Industries (VIK)
Association of Municipal Utilities (VKU)
Image of BDEW
translation from Herman by Google
Press release https://tinyurl.com/598ahzmy
