Renewable hydrogen could potentially be a key enabler in the strides towards a greener Europe. Amongst other things, renewable hydrogen can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels in aviation, shipping and heavy industry, and reduce emissions in these sectors.
In order to do so, an integrated European hydrogen market is needed.
Recently, EU’s gas and hydrogen market package was adopted, meaning that the framework for the European hydrogen market has formally been established. However, there is still a lot to do. Today, the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard and Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth of the Netherlands Sophie Hermans signed a cooperation agreement on renewable hydrogen to take another important step in the market formation.
The agreement was signed during the Dutch royal visit to Denmark, where HM King Frederik of Denmark and HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands participated.
“Europe relies too much on fossil fuels today. We have to fix that and to do so, we need green hydrogen. In Denmark, we are aiming to produce much more green hydrogen than we need at our home market because we want to contribute to the green transition of Europe. This Danish-Dutch cooperation is a step in the right direction towards establishing a integrated European hydrogen market that connects the suppliers with the consumers to reduce the need for fossil fuels across Europe,” says Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard.
“‘The Netherlands and Denmark share the same ambition: to build a strong, sustainable hydrogen market essential for a climate-neutral future. This requires investments in production, demand and infrastructure - and strong partnerships are indispensable for this. The cooperation between the Netherlands and Denmark marks an important step. Besides its own domestic production, the Netherlands will also have to import hydrogen. By using the renewable energy that Denmark generates in the Netherlands, we are joining forces and working together towards a climate-neutral and future-proof economy,” says Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth of the Netherlands Sophie Hermans
Drawing on the vast wind resources in Denmark, the Danish ambition is to become a net exporter of green energy to the benefit of the green transition in Europe – for example exported through the hydrogen pipeline to Germany.
The Dutch ambition is to become a European hub for import and transit of renewable hydrogen. The Netherlands are working to establish a landbased hydrogen network, and the routes are expected to be commissioned at different times from 2030.
Read the agreement here.
Contact the press offices of the Ministry for Climate, Energy and Utilities on +45 41 72 38 05