To further advance the development of the hydrogen infrastructure along the entire value chain in Germany, it is essential that the necessary foundations are laid in the legal framework and that many different areas of legislation are effectively interlinked. The National Hydrogen Council welcomes the draft Hydrogen Acceleration Act (WassBG – Wasserstoffbeschleunigungsgesetz) and sees it as an important milestone on the path towards accelerating the development of the hydrogen economy, but also sees room for improvement.
In its statement concerning the Hydrogen Acceleration Act, the National Hydrogen Council highlights overarching issues within the scope of the Act and formulates key supplementary suggestions. It is essential to extend the scope of the WassBG to the entire value chain and consequently also to hydrogen pipelines, hydrogen power plants and other necessary facilities, such as measurement and control systems. In view of the wide range of options and applications, the Council calls for the import of all derivatives to be included. The Council also calls for the public interest to be standardised by 2045 for important projects such as import terminals or crackers.
In order to be able to realise this desired acceleration, the National Hydrogen Council is asking the federal and state governments to take a joint and efficient approach and to ensure the best possible task management by the administrative bodies.
The “Regarding the Hydrogen Acceleration Act: Setting the Course for Continued Improvement of the Hydrogen Ramp-up” position paper of 21 June 2024 is available for download (in German) here:
Nationaler Wasserstoffrat: Stellungnahme zum Wasserstoffbeschleunigungsgesetz (PDF)
The National Hydrogen Council (NWR – Nationale Wasserstoffrat)
With the adoption of the National Hydrogen Strategy, the German government established the National Hydrogen Council on 10 June 2020. The Council consists of 26 high-level experts from business, science and civil society who are not part of the public administration. The members of the Hydrogen Council have expertise in the areas of production, research and innovation, decarbonisation of industry, transport and building/heating, infrastructure, international partnerships, as well as climate and sustainability. The National Hydrogen Council is chaired by Katherina Reiche, CEO of Westenergie AG and former Parliamentary State Secretary.
The task of the National Hydrogen Council is to advise and support the State Secretary’s Committee for Hydrogen (Staatssekretärsausschuss für Wasserstoff) with proposals and recommendations for action in the implementation and further development of the Hydrogen Strategy.
All National Hydrogen Council publications are available for download here.
Source: National Hydrogen Council (www.wasserstoffrat.de/en)