European electrolyser manufacturers and the European Commission have committed to increase their annual hydrogen manufacturing capacity to 15.5GW by 2025 in a joint declaration.
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO at Hydrogen Europe, commented, “Now is the time to remove all obstacles to build a home for electrolysers in Europe.”
The agreed increase in capacity will allow for the production of 10 million tonnes of ‘locally produced renewable hydrogen’ each year by 2030.
Following the Electrolyser Summit in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday (May 5), Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said, ”Today industry agreed to a ten-fold increase in electrolyser manufacturing capacities in Europe to meet our RePowerEU targets.
“The Commission is committed to support this important industrial upscaling with a number of supportive measures.”
The plans will push the EU towards its REPowerEU released in March, to end the EU’s shift to renewable energy sources as well as its reliance on Russian gas.
The REPowerEU plan outlined doubling the initial EU target of 10 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030.
The joint declaration has been built on ‘three pillars’ – a supportive regulatory framework, accessibility to finance, and facilitating ‘effective supply chains’.
Jon André Løkke, CEO at Nel Hydrogen and President of Hydrogen Europe, said, “There is no Hydrogen Accelerator without an acceleration in electrolyser manufacturing. There is no acceleration in electrolyser manufacturing in Europe without adequate regulatory and financial support.
“Cost-effective and scalable solutions are key qualification criteria. It’s time to walk the talk.”
