IMPORTANCE OF REGIONAL HYDROGEN CLUSTERS IN GERMANY

Date: 15.07.2024
By: H2CE
At its meeting on June 21, 2024, the National Hydrogen Council (NWR) adopted a new statement on the importance of regional hydrogen clusters.

Regional systemic hydrogen clusters complement the central projects currently in focus and enable a rapid hydrogen ramp-up in the area. Local applications, e.g. in industrial and business parks or in the mobility sector, serve to test and scale complex technologies along the value chain and develop tailor-made business models. Against the backdrop of international competition for value creation and technology leadership, it is also important to leverage the potential of regional hydrogen clusters and remove existing hurdles. This is important in view of the German government’s goal of making Germany the leading provider of hydrogen technologies.

In its statement, the National Hydrogen Council points out the advantages of these clusters, particularly in the context of the transformation in the regions and strengthening the resilience of the energy system. However, the implementation of hydrogen clusters is currently hampered by various political and organizational framework conditions. For example, there are numerous specific hurdles for cooperation between stakeholders, project financing and complicated approval procedures for hydrogen projects.

Statement document (in German): https://www.wasserstoffrat.de/fileadmin/wasserstoffrat/media/Dokumente/2024/2024-06-21_NWR-Stellungnahme_Regionale_H2-Cluster.pdf