The National Hydrogen Council urges you to hurry.

At first glance, Germany still has a lot of time until the climate targets are to be met in 2030 and the planned climate neutrality is to be achieved in 2045.

For this, the foundations will have to be laid in the next one to two years, warns the German government's advisory body.

The 26 experts from industry, environmental associations and science presented their proposals on Friday to build a hydrogen economy by 2030 and thus save greenhouse gas emissions.

Jan Hauser

Editor in business.

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    The chairman of the committee, Katherina Reiche, urges action, also because the increased climate protection targets are increasing the pressure.

    "Now hydrogen is no longer an option, it is a must," she said of the FAZ. Hydrogen is considered a beacon of hope for the energy transition.

    "Politicians are quick to set goals, but there is still no roadmap for how we can achieve these goals."

    Reiche sees the high electricity price as a disadvantage. In general, according to their information, CO2 pricing must be strengthened in all sectors, the electricity price must be exempted from the green electricity surcharge under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and the electricity tax reduced significantly. As a result, largely climate-neutral electricity for mobility, heat generation and industry should be in greater demand. "The price of electricity has to drop considerably, ideally by abolishing the EEG surcharge," says the former CDU MP, who now heads the Eon subsidiary Westenergie as her main job.

    Almost a year after it was founded, the Hydrogen Council presented the action plan to Chancellor Helge Braun on Friday.

    The CDU politician calls hydrogen indispensable for the ambitious energy and climate goals and praised the work of the council, which includes Siemens manager Christian Bruch, Nuremberg economist Veronika Grimm and Daimler truck board member Sven Ennerst.

    For the national market ramp-up of a hydrogen economy by 2023, the federal government plans to spend seven billion euros and two billion euros for international hydrogen partnerships.

    Petrol stations, standards, emissions trading

    In the action plan, the government advisors for hydrogen are calling for more state funding, easier investment opportunities and compensation for additional costs for companies. Uniform guarantees of origin, standardization in the European Union and a Europe-wide filling station infrastructure are needed. Renewable energy and European emissions trading should be expanded. In general, a market model for hydrogen supply must be developed that could be similar to that for natural gas.

    Reiche criticizes the fact that no European set of rules ensures the cross-border transport of hydrogen: "We need clear rules for hydrogen in the gas network." Suggestions are also the integration of CO2 emissions into the national toll calculation and an annually increasing CO2 component for the taxation of fuels .

    In addition, a climate tax on CO2-intensive raw materials would have to be examined.

    The Hydrogen Council advocates openness to technology, but sees clear advantages in the use of hydrogen, which can be based on an existing infrastructure and serve as an energy store.

    “There is no discernible technology that would enable what hydrogen can do for decarbonization,” says Reiche.

    Dispute over blue and turquoise hydrogen

    However, the 26 heads in the Hydrogen Council are not entirely in agreement: The Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) and the Climate Alliance Germany do not consider hydrogen from fossil sources to be eligible and criticize it in a special vote. Verena Graichen, BUND board member and council member, says: "Blue hydrogen from fossil natural gas or turquoise hydrogen from thermal energy are not climate-neutral, so they cannot be on a par with green hydrogen."

    The federal government also only provides for green hydrogen in the national hydrogen strategy, which it adopted in June 2020 together with the establishment of the Hydrogen Council. That is not enough for the majority in the Council. "To ramp up a global hydrogen economy, we also need blue and turquoise hydrogen in order to be able to cover the forecast demand," says Reiche. In the action plan, for example, natural gas will initially play a central role in the entry into the hydrogen economy, in order to replace coal as an energy carrier. On the other hand, council member Christiane Averbeck of the Climate Alliance fears that the promotion of fossil hydrogen will slow down the expansion of the production of renewable hydrogen: "That costs too much scarce taxpayers' money and carries the risk ofto cement further decades of dependence on fossil structures. "

    The action plan is aimed primarily at the future government. Reiche speaks of a blueprint for a government program after the election in September. For the government, the consultants propose cross-departmental hydrogen coordination to ensure implementation.