EU Hydrogen Strategy

European Union (Hydrogen Roadmap Europe)

The roadmap outlines an “ambitious scenario for hydrogen development in the EU” in order to

contribute to the Paris Agreement aspirations for limiting global warming. It envisions

generating 2,250 TWh of hydrogen within Europe by 2050 (approximately 24% of final energy

demand), which compares with a business-as-usual demand scenario of 780 TWh by this date.

The ambitious scenario involves deploying hydrogen technologies to decarbonise various

sectors, especially the gas grid through blending and limited conversion to 100% hydrogen;

transportation through adoption of fuel cells in vehicles and shipping and synthetic fuel in

aviation; and in industry as a substitute for natural gas for high-grade process heat and as a

feedstock in processes, either directly or with CO2 as a synfuel or electrofuel. Given its

suitability for energy storage, hydrogen is expected to play an important role in facilitating the

transition to renewable energy generation, providing power balancing and buffering services,

and additional generation capacity.

This broader strategy is focussed on the set of scenarios that would allow the EU to achieve

sufficient decarbonisation by 2050 to be consistent with a less than 2°C (and less than 1.5°C)

increase in temperature from pre-industrial averages. The modelled decreases in emissions are

80%, 90% and 100% below 1990 levels. Although the strategy is one of overall emissions

reductions, hydrogen and ‘e-gas’ (e.g. gas produced using zero-carbon energy such as

synthetic methane) play an important role in many of the scenarios developed given their

potential to substitute for greenhouse gas emissions in many sectors where it is considered

likely that it will be difficult for electricity to do so cost effectively.

An important feature of the strategy of the effort to consider energy decarbonisation needs and

approaches systemically from energy generation, through potential distribution and storage

technologies, to users of the energy (and industrial feedstock).