Germany updates its hydrogen strategy and will now also support low-carbon hydrogen

Germany's National Hydrogen Strategy was published in June 2020. More than three years later, the German government has published an updated version of the strategy. It plans to import at least half of its hydrogen. Hydrogen pipelines from Norway and Denmark are actively under discussion. The German government has now decided to support limited volumes of low-emission hydrogen, including blue hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. It will therefore no longer focus exclusively on green hydrogen. The news was reported by Euractiv.

The German government published an updated version of its National Hydrogen Strategy on 26 July 2023. The strategy was originally published in June 2020. Germany plans for clean hydrogen to play a very significant role in its energy transition, particularly as a feedstock in the steel and chemical industries, and as a fuel for long-distance and freight transport.

Imports will be absolutely crucial

The updated hydrogen strategy projects demand for hydrogen of 95–130 TWh in 2030, only a slight increase compared with the 2020 version. Current demand for hydrogen in Germany stands at 55 TWh. This hydrogen is produced from imported natural gas and is consumed primarily in refineries and the chemical industry.