Hydrogen Cross Border Conference 2023

“If we want to grow from individual developments to total solutions, the individual parts of the hydrogen chain must come together,” says Alderman Guido Rink of municipality of Emmen"From hydrogen production and transport to storage and use – everything must fit together." Relationships between the stakeholders are crucial in this regard. Therefore, it's crucial that we engage in dialogue and that we don't wait for changes to happen, but rather initiate them ourselves."

Conditions

The cooperation between German states and Dutch provinces can create the right framework conditions, said Dr. Magnus Buhlert, Director in the Lower Saxony Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Protection. "These preconditions help companies, research institutes, and scientists achieve results in the hydrogen chain. Together with the northern provinces of the Netherlands, we are committed to removing the obstacles in European legislation and regulations."

Developing a hydrogen economy is not just about the technology, said Tjisse Stelpstra, Provincial Executive Member of the province of Drenthe. We're looking at where we can provide financial support, how we can bring people, organisations, and knowledge together, how we can support training, and how we can streamline the permitting process. Communication is also important, because new technology ultimately needs to be embraced by users.

Opportunities for green hydrogen

According to Jorgo Chatzimarkakis from Hydrogen Europe, Green hydrogen is also seen at European level as the most important success factor in shaping the energy transition. The European Union wants to significantly increase the use of hydrogen. Although the production of green hydrogen is increasing, imports will also be necessary in the long term to meet the growing demand. Hydrogen storage and transport are therefore crucial. This was also the final conclusion of the German-Dutch project HY3, led by Rene Peters ( TNO) and Michael Bakman (DENA) was proposed.

The right preconditions are of great importance

In Germany and the Netherlands, several companies are working on innovations in the field of clean hydrogen. Cross-border collaboration accelerates this development, says Leo van der Burg of FME. German and Dutch companies are well-positioned. But pioneers aren't always rewarded, and an innovative edge doesn't always guarantee success because the preconditions aren't right yet.

Subsidy as a driver for innovation

To mitigate these risks to some extent and make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to innovate, Nikolaus Jansen of the Lower Saxony Regional Development Agency recommends using subsidies. For example, the Interreg Germany-Netherlands funding framework offers several priorities suitable for supporting developments in the hydrogen value chain.

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About HCBC 2023

De Hydrogen Cross Border Conferenceis an annual conference on developments in the hydrogen economy on both sides of the German-Dutch border. HCBC 2023 was organised by, among others, the H2-Ostfrieland initiative, the H2-regio Emsland, Mariko GmbH, FME, OLEC, and New Energy Coalition. Funding came from the organising parties and the state of Lower Saxony, the H2-Ostfriesland initiative, the province of Drenthe, and the municipality of Emmen. Following the two previous editions in Germany (2021: 700 online participants, 2022: 200 participants), this was the first HCBC to take place in the Netherlands.

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