H2 will do!

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, makes the case for hydrogen as a key enabler of the sustainable transition, and invites the curious, the passionate and the driven to the European Hydrogen Week to find out how they can contribute to it.

The hydrogen economy will redraw the energy map. Industry and legislators recognise that it will have a key role in the energy transition, especially to harvest, transport, store and use an ever-growing amount of renewable energy.

The world’s largest auto manufacturers are releasing hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to market for both private and heavy-duty transport. Aviation experts are working tirelessly with the element and its derivatives to make flying sustainable. Electrolysers are getting larger and larger to meet growing demand. And renewable energy experts everywhere see in hydrogen an opportunity to capture and use excess production while also providing back-up power on days of lower generation, all while reducing pressure on our grids. Quite simply, hydrogen is here, and it is here to stay.

With technology advancing and regulatory frameworks being established from the US Inflation Reduction Act to Europe’s Green Deal Industrial Plan, hydrogen offers us a key climate tool and lucrative business opportunities.

That’s why more and more companies and investors are prioritising hydrogen. Yet, of course, every business decision carries risk. Innovation is always risky, but often necessary for us to improve our society. With the ever-looming threat of climate change, this same innovation can now be a vehicle to salvation and genuine sustainability. This will require brave first movers to take the first steps, to walk so we may run, and so we may all benefit.

One way to mitigate this risk, however, is to facilitate the making of connections and the sharing of knowledge among these first movers and their prospective companions. The European Hydrogen Week 2023, which kicks off on November 20, 2023 at Brussels Expo, is a melting pot of powerful and influential policy makers, researchers, manufacturers and end users. During this whole week dedicated to hydrogen and co-organised by Hydrogen Europe, the European Commission and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, attendees will learn about – and marvel at – the latest in hydrogen innovation from our hundreds of exhibitors; they will forge partnerships thanks to the substantial networking opportunities and spaces available; and they will keep abreast of the biggest questions facing the hydrogen sector today in our High-Level Policy Conference and B2B Forum.

Visitors will have access to multiple conference streams, over 25 sessions and 200 expected speakers to deep dive into all things hydrogen. The event will start with a discussion on the global challenges ahead and the key issue of hydrogen storage. One of the main benefits of the ‘first element’ is its ability to be stored long-term; opening up opportunities for long distance transport to areas of need from areas of supply, meaning it can help us drive the creation of a truly circular and collaborative international energy system. Meanwhile, the B2B Forum will begin the week by discussing the all-important topic of financing hydrogen projects: national, supranational and development bank funding will help to unlock the private financing waiting in the wings – and which has already made itself known in recent months with substantial financing packages for large-scale schemes.

During the week, the programme will also explore the groundbreaking achievement that is the Green Deal Industrial Plan, from the EU’s ambitions to massively scale up electrolyser manufacturing capacity to ensuring a more resilient supply chain as raw material needs come to the fore. Another important milestone will be the publication of Hydrogen Europe’s Clean Hydrogen Monitor 2023, a one-stop shop for all the most up to date facts and figures about our sector.

Another important topic of discussion in the High-Level Policy Conference will be ports as we will touch upon imports into the EU and the key role to be played by Europe’s ports, whilst the B2B Forum will address the role of hydrogen in aviation and maritime – it won’t be long before hydrogen and its derivatives are a staple presence in Europe’s airports and seaports.

With much, much more to see and hear at European Hydrogen Week, we would like to invite all of you to this unmissable event. Admission is free, simply requiring registration at https://euhydrogenweek.eu/registration/. Our team will be on-hand to welcome you and help you navigate this multi-room extravaganza, completely dedicated to the molecule responsible for the world’s fourth industrial revolution.

We must work as fast as we can to establish best practices and create synergies between entrepreneurs as we embark on one of the most important journeys as a society. Hydrogen is the present that can ensure we all have a future.

cover photo: [Shutterstock / r.classen]