Policy guidelines
The role of green hydrogen in the energy transition
The energy transformation is a mayor pillar to achieve the net-zero emission policy goals. The transformation of the energy sector encompasses a switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, the enhancement of energy efficiency and energy savings as well as the electrification of hard-to-abate sectors .
Green hydrogen offers energy supply opportunities in areas that cannot be connected to the electricity supply system. As a storage technology, hydrogen can play a crucial role in the future expansion of the renewable energy system: it can store large amounts of surplus energy and supply it to the power grid when needed. Hydrogen is therefore a technology that has the possibility to stabilize the energy system and make it more flexible at the same time.
With its hydrogen strategy, the European Union aims to establish a European hydrogen market that will support the transition of the European energy market and the Alpine region plays a key role:
- In supplying renewable energy – mainly from hydropower, but increasingly also from photovoltaics and wind.
- It hosts hard-to-abate industries that will depend on green hydrogen to cut emissions,
It is central to future hydrogen infrastructure linking Southern and Northern Europe. Many pilot projects can be found in the Alps that are testing technologies and producing green hydrogen. Several regions and subregional administrative units are seeking to implement single hydrogen projects individually or are committed to become hydrogen valleys that cover entire hydrogen value chains.
Barriers and gaps in the green hydrogen sector
To roll-out green hydrogen projects, several barriers need to be overcome. These barriers include:
- the high costs for production and the transport of green hydrogen
- the lack of transport infrastructures
- regulations and standards, such as safety provisions, that need to be harmonized
Establishing a green hydrogen economy is a highly complex task.
Large investments need to be raised and deployed in a targeted manner, structures need to be created to bring together and coordinate players along the entire hydrogen value chain from production to final use.
Regulations and standards need to be put in place to facilitate the implementation of green hydrogen projects.
At the same time, the implementation of hydrogen projects will only be successful if the population accepts the technology. Accordingly, also soft measures need to be put in place to communicate opportunities and risks of hydrogen technology in an understandable way.
FIELDS OF INTERVENTION
Robust governance plays a key role for a resilient and climate-neutral hydrogen economy that helps to sustainably overcome the aforementioned barriers and gaps.
An integrated multi-level policy approach is necessary to roll-out green hydrogen in the Alps more efficiently.
Based on the inputs gathered in the frame of the AMETHyST project, three strategic fields of intervention have been identified for advancing and accelerating green hydrogen development in the Alpine region:
Field of intervention
LOCAL
Promote regional policy planning and green hydrogen strategies
Field of intervention
NATIONAL
Foster coordination between national and regional hydrogen strategies
Field of intervention