Policy guidelines
FIELDS OF INTERVENTION: LOCAL
Policy principles
One of the challenges in creating hydrogen strategies is to align them with ambitious climate and energy targets of ‘net-zero CO₂ emissions’ while also leaving room for innovation and pilot projects to drive the development of a hydrogen market. The following policy principles are intended to enable administrations to align their hydrogen projects with the ‘net-zero CO₂ emissions’ target.
DISCOVER THE POLICY PRINCIPLES
Energy Efficiency
Hydrogen policies need to follow the energy policy principle “Energy Efficiency First”. The energy policy priority is to promote energy efficiency in all energy-relevant areas such as the building sector, the mobility sector, households, industry and the economy.
Additionality of renewable energy sources
To ensure affordable renewable energy in all sectors of application such as private households and the economy, it is important to adhere to the principle of renewable energy additionality. This means that green hydrogen can only be produced from additional renewable energy sources and should not compete with other end users.
Decarbonization potential
The availability of green hydrogen will remain limited in the short to medium term. Therefore, the use of green hydrogen should be prioritized in those application areas where it is ecologically, economically and technically advantageous. The deployment of green hydrogen technologies needs to be weighed up against the use of other decarbonization technologies. For example, in cases in which direct electrification based on renewable energy usage and energy efficiency measures are feasible and also cheaper, this application should be preferred over hydrogen technology. Various studies have proved that direct electrification has a higher decarbonization potential. The production and use of green hydrogen needs to be in line with the net-zero principles. Green hydrogen is scarce. Ideally, it should be applied in cases in which direct electrification is not possible or when it proves to have a high CO₂ emissions savings. in those areas that cannot be directly electrified or have a high potential for CO₂ savings.
Public-private partnerships
Local consumers and producers of green hydrogen, operators of relevant infrastructures as well as science and research should be involved in defining regional hydrogen projects, road maps and strategies to better guarantee the development of sound and realistic policy goals.
Multi-level governance and policy coherence
Regional hydrogen targets shall be coordinated with the political objectives of the multi-level governance system, especially at national and transregional levels to counteract mismatches between demand and supply in the green hydrogen market and to make green hydrogen marketable compared to non-climate-neutral hydrogen. Creating strategic collaborations across administrative boundaries and levels can be advantageous for building a hydrogen market that takes local conditions into account and positions the policy in the best way.
Steering instruments for green hydrogen
Knock-on effects and path dependencies in non-green hydrogen use need to be avoided, as these could otherwise hinder the achievement of decarbonization goals in various sectors. Regional steering instruments shall be implemented that ramp-up the green hydrogen economy. These steering instruments are for example, green public procurement measures with minimum sustainability standards in tendering procedures or purchase agreements.
Policy alignment
Regional hydrogen targets for production, transport and end use must be integrated into the local and regional energy and climate plans and policies. The main focus should be on the expansion of regional green energy and the promotion of energy efficiency in all sectors to cover the additional demand for green electricity for the production of hydrogen and at the same time be able to comply with defined CO₂ reduction paths that are determined by the regional energy and climate policy.
Monitoring
The impact of hydrogen on energy supply as well as investment costs and turnback shall be monitored to avoid stranded assets. As a minimum requirement, hydrogen production and consumption data sets by sector need to be gathered periodically. Also, laws, regulations and incentives schemes shall be monitored concerning their effectiveness.
Communication and public acceptance
The impact of hydrogen as an energy vector on the local and regional energy supply and investment costs shall be monitored in order to avoid stranded assets and thus make the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy as socially sustainable as possible. To this end, data sets need to be aggregated that demonstrate the production and end use of green hydrogen distributed by the different sectors. At the same time, it should be assessed whether accompanying laws, regulations and incentives that were put in place delivered the expected policy goals or not. The policy instruments need to be adjusted accordingly over time.
Improve knowledge and skills
As a technology of the future, hydrogen must be integrated into education, training and further education offers to meet the increased demand for skilled labour that will accompany the roll-out of hydrogen technologies in the coming decades.
ALL FIELDS OF INTERVENTION
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