Germany and India have agreed to encourage private-sector investment and promote green hydrogen trade and export under a new five-year strategy.
The Indo-German Green Hydrogen Roadmap was announced during the 7th Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) in New Delhi, attended by German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Specifically, the roadmap is expected to promote private-sector investments and intensify information exchange, particularly in hard-to-decarbonise sectors and create policies to encourage the production, trade, export and use of green hydrogen.
Furthermore, the collaboration is likely to support Germany’s hydrogen import goal.
H2 View understands that India plans to have a capacity of five million tonnes per year of hydrogen by 2030, whilst Germany wants to reach 95-130TWh per year also by the end of the decade, with an estimated 50-70% of this being imported.
In order to spearhead collaboration on green hydrogen, a permanent working group will be established under the existing partnership, dubbed the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF).
“Germany and India have had a close energy partnership since 2006,” claimed Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
“With the lowest prices for renewable energy, India has the potential to produce green hydrogen at a globally competitive level.”
Habeck added that Germany will “increasingly require large amounts of imported green hydrogen for its economy.”
He continued, “Our collaborations with various countries, now including India, lay the groundwork for this. Together with India, we aim to take a leading role in the global hydrogen economy, advance the energy transition worldwide, and contribute to combating climate change.”
Speaking at the Hydrogen Technology Expo in Hamburg, Germany, last week (October 24), Laura Droste of the German Energy Agency (DENA) claimed the country is facing an uphill take to build the required 9GW of hydrogen capacity by 2030, despite recent momentum.
Read more:Germany faces uphill task to build 9GW of hydrogen capacity by 2030, experts warn
“I’m an optimistic person, [but] it’s quite a challenge to install 9GW in five years, so we need adjustments,” she said, adding that while Germany’s hydrogen strategy aligns with its goals, “adjustments are needed due to higher-than-expected capital costs for projects.”