EDP and Topsoe become new leaders in renewable hydrogen sector
Executive directors of major European companies, policy makers and stakeholders are meeting today in Brussels for Europe's premier renewable hydrogen event, the Renewable Hydrogen Summit, which marks the official appointment of the new leadership of the European renewable hydrogen sector, represented by the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition.
In her opening speech, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave an exciting review of progress to date: “I am proud to share how far we have come. In just 12 months, Europe has seen final investment decisions on more than 2 GW of renewable hydrogen projects. European hydrogen investments will grow by 140% by 2024, and Europe will contribute almost a third of global investments in electrolyzers. Renewable hydrogen is here, it's growing, and this is just the beginning.
The coalition's current chairmen, renewable energy company Ørsted and electrolyzer manufacturer Nel Hydrogen, also officially pass the baton to the newly elected co-chairmen: Ana Quelhas, head of the hydrogen unit at EDP, a leading global company in the energy transition to renewables, and Kim Hedegaard, CEO of Power-to-X, from technology manufacturer TOPSOE, a world leader in catalysis and process technology driving the transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy. The new co-chairs will officially take office on January 1, 2025, for a period of 18 months.
Ana Quelhas, EDP's General Manager for Hydrogen, said: “It is an honor for me to take over the co-chairmanship following the strong leadership of Ørsted and Nel. Europe's main priority now must be to improve the competitiveness of renewable hydrogen to drive demand. At this early stage of the market, it is paramount to leverage and streamline public funding at both national and European levels to close the funding gap, accelerate the development of innovative technologies and scale their deployment to maximize their impact and adoption. Facilitating access to affordable renewable hydrogen and creating green lead markets will be essential for the competitiveness of offtakers and end users, who will benefit from lower prices and greater stability in the supply of clean energy. As demand shifts to cleaner solutions, companies that invest in renewable hydrogen today will have a clear advantage in the marketplace,” he added.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning that renewable electricity, in general, is already competitive. However, the current electricity system with limitations such as grid congestion and lack of interconnections-does not allow end consumers to take full advantage of the low costs of electricity from renewable sources. Therefore, to make renewable hydrogen truly affordable, it is necessary to overcome these electricity system challenges, which would ensure more efficient and affordable access to clean energy, key to the competitiveness and development of renewable hydrogen.
Kim Hedegaard, CEO of Power-to-X at TOPSOE, says: “The EU has firm targets for renewable hydrogen deployment, but we need to prepare our tools. The European Hydrogen Bank's resilience criterion is a good starting point for scaling up European production, achieving economies of scale and strengthening Europe's industrial leadership in strategic electrolyzer technologies, the fundamental building blocks for kick-starting the renewable hydrogen economy and helping us achieve our decarbonization goals. We must now focus on ensuring fair competition in a single, stronger market. We look forward to working with the new EU policy makers, support organizations and industry to make this transition a reality.”
Now is the time to stay the course and scale up. With the right policies, Europe can build a competitive renewable hydrogen value chain, decarbonize, secure leadership in renewable hydrogen production, use and technologies, and improve its safety and resilience. This can turn the Green Deal into a successful Clean Industrial Deal driven by sustainable growth.
The Renewable Hydrogen Coalition (RHC) promotes the key role of renewable hydrogen in achieving the EU's long-term decarbonization goals. The Coalition is the voice of the value chain, including leading renewable energy suppliers, innovative start-ups, investors and industrial buyers, all dedicated to making Europe the world leader in renewable hydrogen solutions.