Germany/Norway – Germany and Norway intend to support significant hydrogen imports during the next ten years.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck plans to sign an unified declaration on the subject during his trip to Norway this week. The Green lawmaker will meet with business people on Thursday and Friday to have political discussions.
According to the Federal Ministry of Economics on Tuesday, Norway and Germany wish to reconfirm their goal to secure a sizable supply of hydrogen with the accompanying infrastructure from Norway to Germany by 2030. Hydrogen as an energy source has a lot of potential for an ecologically friendly economic reorganization.
The prospective construction of a hydrogen pipeline is the subject of discussions. According to the government, the findings of a feasibility study should be available by spring. In the medium term, Germany wants to import “green hydrogen.” Carbon dioxide emissions that harm the environment are kept to a minimum during its production thanks to the use of renewable energy sources. Only a “short transition time” should be spent on less environmentally favorable hydrogen, according to the ministry.
European hydrogen backbone
The government claims that Norway has the ability to produce up to 50 terawatt hours of green hydrogen by 2030 and 150 terawatt hours by 2040, citing a network of infrastructure owners known as the European Hydrogen Backbone. At the same time, it is projected that Norway’s own consumption will be moderate.
Another objective shared by Germany and Norway is to develop a strategic partnership in the areas of climate, renewable energy, and green industry. The joint goal is to economically move away from the usage of fossil fuels. In a work plan for the energy industry, such as grids for offshore wind farms, the relationship must be indicated. In addition, cooperation needs to be increased in important value chains like those for raw materials and microelectronics.
