Green(ing) H2

Hydrogen (H2) is projected to play a key role in a future climate-neutral society, enabling emission-free transport, heating, and industrial processes as well as seasonal energy storage. However, hydrogen is not per se climate neutral. If not designed with a focus on sustainability, both its production and its logistics bear the danger of dependency on fossil fuels as well as of competition for water and renewable energy. In Europe, the policy debates on hydrogen have been dominated by representatives from the energy industry, who have not adequately articulated these dangers. An informed and engaged civil society can contribute to the respective policy debates and hold decision makers accountable, ensuring that further advancement of hydrogen strategies focuses on truly sustainable hydrogen.

Collaborating for a common goal, Photo: ©Bob Dmyt

The project team targeted organised civil society – such as NGOs, think tanks, and associations – on the EU level as well as in Poland, Germany, and Portugal as countries which held key roles in advancing the hydrogen industry in Europe. To empower civil society to actively engage in the hydrogen debate, the project team focused on two activities. The first step was to build a cross-European network of organized civil society actors who were interested in or involved in green(ing) hydrogen at the European and national levels, encouraging and facilitating the exchange of knowledge and perspectives. This network constituted the basis for the second step, which was to – as a collective – develop guidelines for policymakers. These guidelines aimed to propose solutions for designing sustainable hydrogen markets and infrastructures. The project members disseminated these guidelines among civil society organizations and among government ministries so that the guidelines supported the policy processes that paved the way for the further advancement of truly net-carbon free hydrogen. Through its efforts, the project team contributed to unleashing the full potential of green hydrogen for climate neutrality.

• Creation of a Europe-wide network of stakeholders interested in greening hydrogen. Throughout the project, members of the network participated in working group meetings on hydrogen policy promoted by CAN-Europe and met with other organisations at EU level. European and national workshops were held, bringing together environmental and energy NGOs, industry and government representatives. Members of the network published a large number of articles in different European countries. Articles: 
  • Broad industry-NGO coalition calls for EU… | Transport & Environment 
  • The hydrogen and gas decarbonisation package under publication needs to  improve - CAN Europe 
• Draft of common guidelines for policy makers on solutions to make hydrogen markets and infrastructures more sustainable. The guidelines were shared with civil society organisations and ministries, who were able to use them as a guide for policy processes. In this way, the project helped to unleash the full potential of green hydrogen to achieve climate neutrality.  
• After a Press release from ZERO about the official government plans for green hydrogen in Portugal, (see article), the member of the European Parliament Maria Graça Carvalho wrote an opinion article in the national newspaper agreeing with ZERO’s press release, and claimed that ZERO has been an important actor in the promotion and analysis of green hydrogen in the Portuguese economy.