EU Plans 'completely Change Outlook' For Global Hydrogen Economy

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The EU’s and Germany’s plans to push the use of green hydrogen to decarbonise the economy are likely to trigger a competitive race with China that will be crucial for a global breakthrough of the technology, says Kobad Bhavnagri, Global Head of Industry and Building Decarbonization at research service BloombergNEF (BNEF).

Europe’s recent commitments “completely change the outlook” for a sharp reduction in costs that will allow scaling up production and use of renewable hydrogen, Bhavnagri told Clean Energy Wire. In turn, this could allow more countries to commit to a net-zero emissions target in the fight against climate change. “Europe’s and Germany’s leadership in hydrogen is exactly what was needed to kickstart the move,” said Bhavnagri, lead author of BNEF’s landmark ‘Hydrogen Economy Outlook’ report published earlier this year. “That really sends a strong signal to everybody else – to China, to Japan, to South Korea, perhaps to parts of the United States to say: ‘Ok, we can’t be left behind here.’