In order to accelerate the layout of the development of local hydrogen energy industry and accelerate the role of hydrogen energy in the energy transformation, the German Federal Cabinet recently passed a new version of the National Hydrogen Energy Strategy, which further refined the development goals of hydrogen energy and its derivatives and hydrogen energy application technology on the basis of the existing version. On the one hand, the new strategy focuses on ensuring adequate supply of hydrogen energy and its derivatives and market development of hydrogen energy application technologies; On the other hand, the new version of the strategy will build the necessary and efficient hydrogen energy infrastructure as a strategic priority.

In order to accelerate the layout of the development of local hydrogen energy industry and accelerate the role of hydrogen energy in the energy transition, the German Federal Cabinet recently passed a new version of the National Hydrogen energy Strategy, which further refined the development goals of hydrogen energy and its derivatives and hydrogen energy application technology on the basis of the existing version, and took the construction of the necessary hydrogen energy infrastructure as a strategic focus.

"Investing in hydrogen is investing in our future - in climate protection, in jobs, in the security of our energy supply," German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economy and Climate Protection Jan Habeck said in a statement. German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Schulze also said that by updating the National Hydrogen Strategy, Germany hopes to send a signal to partner countries that Germany not only wants to import hydrogen energy reliably, but also wants to help the sustainable development of the new hydrogen supply chain.

In recent years, the global hydrogen energy industry has developed rapidly. Data from the International Hydrogen Energy Council shows that by the end of 2022, the global direct investment in the hydrogen energy sector is nearly 250 billion US dollars. The commission predicts that total investment will rise to $500bn by 2030; By 2050, the proportion of hydrogen energy in total energy consumption worldwide will increase to 18%, and the economic market size of hydrogen energy will soar to 2.5 trillion US dollars.

Heiko Staubitz, a hydrogen expert at the German Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment, said that hydrogen energy is an ideal link between the power, transport and heating sectors, with easy storage and climate-friendly characteristics. The federal government wants to put Germany's energy supply on a broader basis so that it is independent of fossil fuels, so hydrogen will play a key role.

The new strategy focuses on ensuring adequate supply of hydrogen energy and its derivatives and market development of hydrogen energy application technologies. Germany first published its National Hydrogen Strategy in 2020, when it estimated that the country's hydrogen demand would range from 90 TWh to 110 TWH by 2030. According to the new National Hydrogen Strategy, Germany's hydrogen demand is expected to reach 95 terawatt to 130 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030.

Since Germany cannot produce enough hydrogen on its own, a parallel strategy of hydrogen import and storage will be key to ensuring Germany's development in the field of hydrogen energy. As far as imports are concerned, the new National Hydrogen Energy Strategy predicts that by 2030, Germany will need to import about 50% to 70% of its hydrogen energy, so the import strategy needs to be further improved.

Simon Peter, head of the German Renewable Energy Association, said that the German government has not chosen to localize green hydrogen production, but to import hydrogen energy by sea as the main way. The new National Hydrogen Strategy makes clear that the government is developing a separate plan for hydrogen imports, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Since 2022, Germany has signed several hydrogen cooperation agreements with countries such as Canada, Norway, the United Arab Emirates and Namibia. In August 2022, Germany and Canada signed a Green hydrogen cooperation agreement to create a trans-Atlantic hydrogen supply chain that will see large-scale Canadian hydrogen exports to Germany by 2025. In January 2023, Germany and Norway signed an agreement on an energy partnership, under which the two sides will build hydrogen power stations and plan to build a hydrogen pipeline by 2030.

In addition, Germany also plans to significantly increase its domestic electrolytic hydrogen capacity, with plans to double the target for domestic electrolytic hydrogen capacity by 2030, from the current 5 gigawatts (GW) to at least 10 GW.

The new version of the strategy also makes the construction of necessary and efficient hydrogen energy infrastructure a strategic priority. In mid-May this year, the German Federal Cabinet approved amendments to the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), which deals with the legal and regulatory framework for Germany's future hydrogen core network. The Energy Industry Act details plans for the construction of a hydrogen core network in Germany, with the first phase containing significant hydrogen infrastructure, which will be operational by 2032. By the end of this year, in the second phase, a comprehensive hydrogen network development plan will be incorporated into the Energy Industry Law.

The new edition of the National Hydrogen Energy Strategy once again proposes that between 2027 and 2028, Germany will initially establish a hydrogen energy infrastructure network, including more than 1,800 kilometers of reconstructed and new hydrogen pipelines, and add about 4,500 kilometers of hydrogen pipelines in Europe as part of the European Hydrogen energy infrastructure network. By improving infrastructure, Germany plans to open up all aspects of hydrogen production, storage and transportation, import and consumption by 2030.

It is understood that the above hydrogen pipeline project will receive financial support from the European Commission's "Major Project of Common European Interest" (IPCEIs), which is also the main driving force behind the intensive announcement of hydrogen energy projects by European energy companies in the past two years. In December 2020, 22 EU member States and Norway signed a declaration committing themselves to a "major project of common European interest" in the field of hydrogen energy, covering the entire clean hydrogen value chain - from renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production to hydrogen storage, transport, distribution and use, especially in industry.

In addition, in order to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of hydrogen over long distances in the future, the 12 major pipeline operators in Germany have also published a joint plan for the planned "National Hydrogen core Network". Barbara Fischer, president of the German Transmission System Operator, said: "Our goal is to retrofit as many hydrogen pipelines as possible, rather than build new ones." More than half of Germany's future hydrogen pipelines will be converted from existing natural gas pipelines.

It is understood that at present, major countries around the world are committed to promoting the development of hydrogen technology, including the United States, Japan and many other countries have launched hydrogen energy strategy, focusing on accelerating the layout of the whole hydrogen industry chain, and promoting the preparation of green hydrogen from renewable energy sources. Editor/Xu Shengpeng