In a working document published on Tuesday 9 July, the European Commission analyses the challenges and opportunities for speeding up the deployment of ‘Hydrogen Valleys’ across Europe, with the aim of having 50 “under construction or operational” by 2030.
These ‘valleys’ are geographical areas, such as cities, regions or industrial clusters, where several hydrogen applications are combined into an integrated hydrogen ecosystem, covering production, storage, distribution and multiple end uses.
By May 2022, there will be 23 in the EU, spread across 11 Member States.
To accelerate their development, substantial investment is needed in research and innovation. The Horizon Europe funding programme is supporting the ‘Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking’ to the tune of €1 billion. In addition, as part of the REPowerEU strategy, the Commission has allocated a further €200 million to increase the number of ‘Hydrogen Valleys’ in the EU.
The European Commission is now aiming to increase supply and stimulate demand, notably via the European Hydrogen Bank, of which the first auction will allocate €720 million to 7 projects in the form of a fixed premium for each kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced over a 10-year period (see EUROPE 13416/8).
It also aims to strengthen cooperation and synergies at European and global level, and to create a community of hydrogen knowledge and skills, with the launch of the European Hydrogen Academy in January 2024.
To see the working document: https://aeur.eu/f/czs (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)