National hydrogen associations have signed a Cooperation Charter for European Associations Advancing Clean Hydrogen, which will guide the joint efforts to establish favourable conditions for leadership in hydrogen technologies across the bloc.
The move comes after 23 national associations gathered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands at the European Hydrogen Associations Assembly, organised by Hydrogen Europe and co-hosted by NLHydrogen.
The key topic of the discussion was the transposition of the Renewable Energy Directive and how to ensure the development of enabling regulation in different Member States of the EU. The event saw a keynote speech from Karlo van Dam, Director of Sustainable Industry at the Dutch Ministry of Economics and Climate.
Recognising the strategic role of national associations for the development of favourable national legal frameworks and the importance of the upcoming European Parliament elections, the event and the Charter mark a significant milestone in the implementation of a unified European approach, said Hydrogen Europe.
Through the signed document, the associations commit to work together towards their common goals, via actions to promote hydrogen technologies deployment, de-risking of investments and the development of capacity building efforts, it added.
“The Cooperation Charter for European Associations Advancing Clean Hydrogen – signed here today with more than 20 national hydrogen associations – is an expression of our commitment to working together in the coming years to facilitate hydrogen deployment at national levels”, said Hydrogen Europe chief executive Jorgo Chatzimarkakis.
He added: “It is a very anticipated event, recognising the role of our hydrogen associations in supporting their governments and industry in the challenging task of transposing sector defining legislation and targets at national level, such as RED III.”
The key principles in the Cooperation Charter for European Associations Advancing Clean Hydrogen are:
Advocating for comprehensive policy backing for hydrogen technologies at national, regional, and European levels;
Working together to establish thriving clean hydrogen markets and skills development, based on a technology open approach;
Supporting the effective integration of EU legislation into national frameworks, fostering harmonisation across Europe;
Sharing best practices through participation in national and European events organised by fellow associations, and actively participating in the European Hydrogen Week;
Establishing alliances with national chambers of commerce and other relevant organisations to advocate for hydrogen as a crucial tool for reducing carbon emissions.