European electrolysis producers aim to increase production tenfold

The 20 largest electrolysis producers in the EU have pledged to increase their production tenfold by 2025. In return, the EU Commission is promising them state aid relief and money from the EU Innovation Fund for Carbon Difference Contracts (CCfD).

The CEOs of electrolysis manufacturers such as Bosch, Siemens and Thyssenkrupp Nucera, the head of the European hydrogen industry association Hydrogen Europe, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, and EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton signed a corresponding declaration of intent in Brussels. The aim is to establish a value chain for electrolysers in the EU along the lines of the "Battery Alliance". It is estimated that electrolysers with a total capacity of 1.75 GW are currently produced annually in the EU. European electrolyser manufacturers aim to reach 17.5 GW by 2025.

90 to 100 GW would be needed by 2030 to produce 10 million tons of hydrogen in the EU, as targeted by the "RepowerEU" strategy. The EU Commission presented the strategy on March 8. It is intended to make the EU more independent of natural gas imports, especially those from Russia. This includes the goal of increasing renewable hydrogen production by 5 million tons in the EU by 2030, i.e., in addition to the 5.6 million tons that the new EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED 3) of July 2021 sets as a mandatory sub-target for renewable energy of non-biological origin. The EU Commission refers to the increase in green hydrogen as the "hydrogen accelerator".