Denmark and Germany should join forces to scale-up production and deployment of green hydrogen, building on their strengths in renewable energy. That was the message at a roundtable event hosted by Ramboll and the Danish Energy Industries Federation on 25 August, following the biennial Hamburg Copenhagen Business Forum.
The Danish and German delegations, which included Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, and Michael Westhagemann, Minister for Economy and Innovation in Hamburg, expressed support for a future collaboration on a Danish-German hydrogen cluster.
Attracting investments and expertise
“It makes very good sense for Denmark and Germany to collaborate, as we are neighbouring countries. A Danish-German hydrogen cluster will resonate globally and attract investments, companies and expertise,” said Jens-Peter Saul, Group CEO at Ramboll. “Together, we can establish a strong joint platform of know-how, innovation and production – benefitting both countries,” he added.
About 30 senior business leaders from key companies in the hydrogen market including Ørsted, Halder Topsøe, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Vattenfall, also attended the roundtable. They shared investor and infrastructure perspectives on green hydrogen and Power-to-X, highlighting the urgent need for political support and funding to realise the potential of future collaboration and deployment of these technologies at scale.
Building on renewable energy strongholds
Denmark and Northern Germany currently produce large volumes of renewable energy from offshore wind farms in the North Sea, which can be used to manufacture green hydrogen. With added investments in wind energy, such as in the planned energy island in the North Sea, production will only increase in the coming years.
Both countries have both allocated significant funds to the development of sustainable fuels. Germany has earmarked EUR 7 billion in its hydrogen strategy to foster the domestic market as part of its hydrogen strategy, and another EUR 2 billion via a “Made in Germany” strategy. Similarly, Denmark has decided to invest DKK 850 million in developing green fuels.
“Green hydrogen and Power-to-X offer vast opportunities for accelerating the green transition and may become an important emerging business area for Danish companies. A close collaboration with Hamburg and Northern Germany will give both countries an even stronger position in the race to become a global powerhouse,” says Troels Ranis, Director of the Danish Energy Industries Federation.
About green hydrogen
Green hydrogen is completely carbon free and is produced by using renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and water in an electrolyser, with no greenhouse gases emissions released in the production process. Green hydrogen can either be used directly or synthesized into sustainable fuels using Power-to-X technologies.
Green hydrogen and sustainable fuels can be used instead of fossil fuels in hard-to-electrify sectors such as aviation, trucking, shipping, and heavy manufacturing – and help reduce their carbon emissions. As such, green hydrogen is a technology that will play a vital role in helping the world stay below 1.5°C of global warming.