More realism in the hydrogen ramp-up

"Our projects don't fail because of the technology, but because of regulatory requirements," said Perkmann at the event.

Together with Franz Helm, Managing Director of VERBUND Green Hydrogen GmbH, Perkmann discussed the current challenges and prospects. Both companies are already working together in the field of hydrogen: VERBUND, for example, will be supplying green hydrogen to Westfalen from next year – to supply medium-sized companies in Austria and southern Germany in particular.

"For broad market penetration – and this is no secret – the costs are currently still too high. Compared to natural gas, the difference is more than a factor of six. The changeover is therefore not affordable for many industries," emphasized Perkmann. "We must therefore do everything we can, both in politics and business, to make hydrogen more affordable. Until then, it makes sense to initially focus on applications in which gray hydrogen can be replaced by green hydrogen."

Excessive regulation is one of the main factors slowing things down. "In addition to initial subsidies, we need practicable rules above all. The European RFNBO criteria are too complex. Especially at the beginning of the market ramp-up, this bureaucracy hinders the necessary speed," said Perkmann. Many funding programs are also hardly accessible to SMEs – even though they form the backbone of the German economy.

A clear political course is a prerequisite for the ramp-up. "If we want to exploit the full potential of hydrogen, we need an implementable framework," explained Perkmann. Stronger CO₂ pricing of fossil fuels could be an effective lever here, for example. "But of course, this can only happen within a framework that does not further jeopardize the competitiveness of German industry."

At the same time, the company's CEO emphasized the importance of hydrogen in terms of industrial policy: "Wherever industrial processes require high temperatures or a large number of chemical reactions - for example in steel, glass or chemical production - there is no way around hydrogen. These industries are dependent on this energy source to achieve their decarbonization goals."

Above all, it is now a matter of shaping the transition with realism: "After the initial hype, pragmatic, practicable solutions are now required. Less symbolic politics, more concrete measures – this is the only way to successfully shape the ramp-up. And if we really want to take climate protection seriously, hydrogen is at the heart of energy and industrial policy."