Export opportunity – Germany hydrogen and renewables

Germany – hydrogen and renewables opportunity summary 

Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy was published in June 2020 and updated in 2023 in line with the country’s shift to renewables, and the Government’s decision to phase out nuclear power by 2022 and coal by 2038. 

The strategy seeks to address all parts of the hydrogen value chain, introduces targets for domestic hydrogen production and is backed by substantial public investment. 

To support Germany’s 2050 climate targets and post-Covid-19 green recovery, the use of green hydrogen will be an increasingly important focus. The updated strategy clarifies that direct government subsidies on the production side will be limited to renewable hydrogen, but applications using low-carbon hydrogen, including blue hydrogen produced from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage, can now be supported during the ramp-up phase of the hydrogen market. 

Scale of export opportunity 

Hydrogen demand for Germany is estimated to be 95 to 130 Terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030. To address this demand, generation plants with a total electrolysis capacity of up to 10 Gigawatts (GW) are planned by 2030.

By 2027/2028, a hydrogen start-up grid with more than 1,800 kilometerss of repurposed and newly-built hydrogen pipelines will be set up in Germany using Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) funding. 

The German Government will invest €7 billion in improving and increasing the use of hydrogen technologies. It has also committed €2 billion to supporting the development of international partnerships with countries where the production of green hydrogen is cheaper.

The German Government has also backed the H2Global mechanism, which will make a further €900 million available, potentially rising to €4 billion, to help promote a timely and effective ramp-up of the PtX market on an industrial scale. 

Company suitability   

There are significant opportunities for any company that can contribute to making the large-scale production of green H2 more affordable or enabling the deployment of hydrogen transportation, storage and refuelling infrastructure. Examples include: 

• Companies with experience in supporting electrolyser installation 
  suppliers of electrolyser components
• Developers of innovative technology solutions for the production, transportation, storage and handling of hydrogen
• Companies experienced in leading feasibility studies for large-scale H2 projects
• Providers of engineering services across process industries
• Systems integrators and installers with experience in renewables and hydrogen
• Operation and maintenance providers for hydrogen production/distribution assets
• Suppliers of ancillary equipment/balance of plant such as water purification, compressors, heat exchangers, control systems