The European Commission has unveiled plans to kick off an to facilitate ramp-up of electrolyser manufacturing in the EU to meet its green hydrogen ambition.
The European Electrolyser Partnership initiative aims to address the challenges in “establishing and maturing a strong industrial manufacturing base” in Europe.
It will also identify potential mitigating policies and actions where necessary.
The initiative was conceived earlier in May at the Electrolyser Summit organised jointly by the European Commission and Hydrogen Europe, where 20 industry CEOs and Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton signed a Joint Declaration outlining the commitment of the electrolyser industry and the European Commission to deliver on the REPowerEU ambitious goals.
Under REPowerEU, Europe is targeting a market of 20 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030.
The partnership will be hosted under the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, which is managed by the European Commission.
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Hydrogen Europe CEO, said: “The electrolyser industry must increase its manufacturing capacity ten-fold within the next five years to allow meeting the European goal of 20 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030”.
During the Hydrogen Forum, today, Daniel Fraile (pictured), chief policy officer at Hydrogen Europe, presented the Electrolyser Partnership goals and next steps.
He said: “The Electrolyser Partnership will act as a catalyst for advancing EU industrial leadership and fostering increased cooperation between manufacturers, key material suppliers and policy makers.
“We need to work at a strategic level to ensure that the renewable hydrogen consumed in Europe is done with European technology and that it contributes to a just energy transition creating jobs growth in Europe.
“The Electrolyser Partnership is the right vehicle to get this done”.
The European Commission is opening a call for interest among the Clean Hydrogen Alliance members aiming for a first meeting of the Electrolyser Partnership in September.