Chile, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Morocco. Patiently, he lists the names of the countries while searching in his Excel table. Since last August, Mikaa Blugeon-Mered has counted, where others no longer do, and has identified no less than forty diplomatic actions and collaborations between Germany and other countries with a view to ensuring a future supply of green hydrogen. “In six countries, Berlin has set up sort of local hydrogen embassies – hydrogen diplomacy office in English -, but elsewhere this can take the form of ministerial summits, training, direct subsidies, or even writing of the partner’s hydrogen strategy.explains this professor, who was one of the first to teach the geopolitics of hydrogen at Sciences Po.
No wonder, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Germany, which has given up nuclear power and does not have enough solar and wind power, has been pulling out all the stops to attempt to satisfy its phenomenal need for energy while decarbonizing its economy. “German demand for green hydrogen is incommensurable with that of France”insists Pierre Laboué, head of international relations at France Hydrogène, referring to the weight of the steel industry and the needs for electricity production. “Germany needs volume, and cheap volume if it wants its model based on “made in Germany”, which was calibrated on the use of Russian gas, to remain competitive. » And this, even though the country has been looking for solutions since mid-November, after the court decision which struck the new expenditures of its green transition plan as unconstitutional.
This appetite, if it is far from being as exacerbated in all countries, nevertheless illustrates a fact: the race for global exchanges of low-carbon hydrogen is beginning to take shape. “There are around forty countries that have published their hydrogen strategy and as many their roadmap”summarizes Laurent Antoni, executive director of an intergovernmental structure on hydrogen, the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy.
Over the last twenty years, this scientist notes that COP21, in 2015 in Paris, constituted a “real turning point”. States and companies that committed to 100% decarbonization of their economies then understood that they could not achieve this with electricity alone. They would need, to cover “the last mile”use this small molecule produced by electrolysis of water and considered “green” if the electricity used to generate the electrolysis comes from renewable energies.
You have 80% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.