HyDEX and the Energy Research Accelerator recently held an EU-UK Hydrogen Summit in Brussels to exchange knowledge and explore ideas for hydrogen collaboration between Europe and the United Kingdom.

The event started with a thought-provoking keynote speech from the internationally renowned energy thought leader, Michael Liebreich. He discussed the Clean Hydrogen Ladder concept and stressed the need to focus on specific areas for UK-EU collaboration in hydrogen such as green steel, aviation & shipping, and long duration energy storage.

Rosalinde van der Vlies, Clean Planet Director of the European Commission discussed the work that the Commission has been doing to develop Hydrogen Valleys across Europe.

Dominik Richter from Hydrogen Europe talked about the ambition to create 100 global Hydrogen Valleys and to link them up through trans-European networks.

Also on the subject of Hydrogen Valleys, Geerte de Jong from HEAVENN, the Netherlands Hydrogen Valley, and Margherita Matzer from the WIVA P&G Energy Model Region in Austria, explained some of the challenges of the Hydrogen Valleys programme, including the importance of finding the right balance of running an ambitious project over a long time frame in the fast-moving hydrogen sector as there is little scope to change a Valley project once it starts.

Other speakers included:
· Nicole Glanemann German Energy Attache to the EU. Nicole stated that by 2030 Germany’s aim is for electrolyser capacity to be doubled, 50-70% of demand are expected to be imports. Nicole also explained how Germany is supporting the development of new hydrogen projects worldwide.
· Anaïs Laporte Government Relations Manager for Battolyser Systems who described how they are  working with the Port of Rotterdam to develop a 1GW hydrogen factory starting in 2026
·        Prof Goran Strbac from Imperial College. Goran stressed the need to consider the interaction between different energy vectors to determine the most cost-effective ways to decarbonise.
· Mark Watts FCILT FRSA former MEP and Director of LP Brussels gave a brief summary of the different energy policies of the main UK political parties.

On the second day of the summit Faye McAnulla ran a workshop covering a number of topics, including:
·        Financing and Funding
·        Policy Frameworks
·        Collaboration – Hydrogen Valleys etc
·        Workshop Development, Just Transition and Public Acceptance
·        Energy System Modelling
·        Network Planning

Professor Martin Freer Director of the Energy Research Accelerator summarised the discussions and concluded that there were many potential areas for collaboration and learning between the UK and EU that would be followed up as a result of the summit.

A key output from the summit will be the publication of a ‘UK-EU Hydrogen Policy Report’ with ideas and recommendations, which will be launched in the autumn.