Czech government approves updated hydrogen strategy

At its meeting in mid-July, the government approved the first update to the Hydrogen Strategy. The strategy highlights the need to import hydrogen into the country, the importance of producing hydrogen through electrolysis using renewable energy sources, and also supports the production of low-carbon hydrogen, which its authors say has significant potential in the Czech Republic.

The strategy, set out over 127 pages, develops one of the directions in which the decarbonisation of the Czech economy will proceed. This involves using low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in sectors that currently use hydrogen produced from fossil sources. This mainly concerns industry, as well as introducing hydrogen into new sectors such as energy and transport. The ministry is therefore aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support economic growth.

“The update to the Hydrogen Strategy is a crucial step on our path to carbon neutrality. Hydrogen will become an important element of our energy policy, whether as a replacement for fossil fuels in transport, a carrier for the transmission and storage of energy, a feedstock for the chemical industry, or a source of heat. This strategy supports our economy and also contributes to environmental protection,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela.

The document as a whole builds on the development of hydrogen infrastructure in the European Union following the adoption of the decarbonisation package for the market in renewable gases, the regulation on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and the updated directive on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources.

Three phases

The updated strategy divides hydrogen development into three phases. The first involves creating hydrogen valleys with integrated production and consumption of renewable hydrogen. The target is to produce approximately 20 000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year by 2030, which will require bringing new electrolysers with a capacity of 400 MWe into operation. The strategy estimates that the price of hydrogen will be around 8 EUR/kg during this period.

This phase also helps develop hydrogen technologies in transport and kick-start a hydrogen ecosystem from the perspective of integral ecology. The strategy also takes into account the findings of the completed research sub-project, Modelling demand for low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in transport in the Czech Republic to 2030, which identified demand for around 6 000 t of hydrogen in 2030.

The second phase focuses on securing imports of renewable hydrogen through a pan-European network of hydrogen pipelines. Planned projects such as the Central European Hydrogen Corridor and the Czech German Hydrogen Interconnector will enable the Czech Republic to become part of the European hydrogen ecosystem. Imports of renewable hydrogen will also make it possible to significantly reduce its price.

The third phase focuses on producing renewable and low-carbon hydrogen in the Czech Republic using newly developed technologies. Some studies estimate that the price of hydrogen could fall to as low as 2 EUR/kg.

Cross-sector cooperation

The Ministry of Industry and Trade worked with other organisations on updating the strategy, including the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Transport, the Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform HYTEP, the Confederation of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic, the Czech Gas Association and others. The document is closely linked to the Czech Republic’s National Energy and Climate Plan, the State Energy Policy and the National Clean Mobility Action Plan. “The updated strategy will enable us to find an economically and socially effective path to achieving our goals and ensure sustainable development for future generations,” Minister Síkela added.