Policy guidelines

FIELD OF INTERVENTION: NATIONAL
Foster coordination between national and regional hydrogen strategies

Multi-level governance in the field of hydrogen policy has progressed to varying degrees in the member states of the Alpine Space. Five out of the seven Alpine states (Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland) have adopted a national hydrogen strategy. Slovenia is developing a strategy.

Individual roadmaps and strategies have been adopted by regional governments and at local level, hydrogen valleys have been established, and pilot projects have been launched by private economic actors and public-private partnerships.

In this context, it will be important to establish governance structures that are able to connect decision makers and stakeholders at various levels to better steer the roll-out of hydrogen policies in the Alpine territory in the long run.

Therefore, proactive bottom-up and top-down approaches should be initiated at the corresponding levels.

Connect regional ambition with national strategies

One of the challenges ahead will be to better match local and regional efforts in the field of hydrogen with national strategies and to set up a governance system that links diverse strategies and objectives in the multi-level governance system. In this context, regional roadmaps and strategies shall be aligned to national strategies.

IMG_6045
Good practice visit of the Arieshof in South Tyrol in the frame of the AMETHyST Experts Exchange programme, June 2024.
Credits: Energy Agency South Tyrol – CasaClima.

Establishing national support structures

The creation of support structures, such as one-stop shops and national stakeholder platforms, which can drive the implementation of the national hydrogen strategy forward in a coordinated manner, is advantageous for the development of local and regional hydrogen value chains. One of the tasks of these support structures is to facilitate the flow of information and expertise in the multi-level governance system, thereby fueling the realisation of hydrogen projects.

These support structures serve as contact points for funding measures, laws and regulations, as a knowledge transfer instrument by passing on studies and carrying out further training measures; they network stakeholders from industry, science and research; work as mediators between companies in the hydrogen sector; and act as a reporting centre for regulatory gaps and legal hurdles in the hydrogen economy that need to be closed or removed by national legislation in order to make the implementation of hydrogen projects easier.

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

TRANSREGIONAL
Foster transregional and transnational cooperation