The development and implementation of an EU strategy for hydrogen imports must be driven forward now, according to the VDMA Power-to-X for Applications in its recently published position paper. This is because the environment in which the EU operates is changing rapidly. A new EU energy policy must be measured in terms of increasing competitiveness, responding to geopolitical unpredictability and undiminished ambition in climate policy. Resilience in energy supply is in the strategic interest of the EU and must now be strengthened. Hydrogen as a cornerstone of the future energy system is rightly gaining in importance here. The ramp-up of hydrogen production within the EU is essential, but imports will also be necessary to meet the projected demand, especially in the hard-to-abate sectors.

An EU strategy for hydrogen imports must accordingly address the following key priorities:

• Formulating an EU import strategy for hydrogen and derivatives as part of the Clean Industrial Deal
• Implementation of double-sided auctions based on the H2Global model as part of the EU Hydrogen Bank
• Facilitate access to private capital with de-risking instruments
• Pragmatic legal framework to facilitate imports:
  • Strengthen import potential from third countries by incentivizing the conversion of existing fossil production facilities,
  • Enable the import of H2 derivatives with CO2 from industrial processes from third countries,
  • Protection of initial installations over the entire depreciation period,
  • Reduce the complexity of the Union database for the import of renewable and recycled carbon fuels produced in third countries

The detailed positions can be found in the position paper for more details.

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