Coming as the inaugural Summit at the renowned European exhibition, a day of French and English sessions took place, dissecting the hydrogen landscape and showcasing ongoing projects on the continent.
Transport has long been an alluring, relatable application for hydrogen, and potentially none more sort after than the prospect of hydrogen-powered flight. Eric Delobel, Chief Technical Officer at Vinci Airports took to the stage to discuss work the company was undertaking to develop airport-based hydrogen ecosystems.
Delobel told delegates that as the ‘first’ private airport operator, Vinci wants to become a leader in the decarbonisation of airports. “We see that hydrogen will play a key role in the decarbonisation of airport mobility,” he said.
However, Delobel explained that before pure hydrogen can take up a leading role, he believes that sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), in the medium term, will play a big role as an interim fuel for decarbonisation.
The Vinci Airports CTO discussed the company’s ongoing projects that are looking to introduce hydrogen at airports, adding, “We want to make sure that we have everything done in terms of regulation, technology, and economics so we can eventually welcome hydrogen-powered aircraft.”
Read more: Airbus, Air Liquide and VINCI Airport to develop Europe’s first hydrogen airport by 2023
“We know that aircraft will be powered by liquid hydrogen, which is very difficult to handle and manipulate, so we need to improve our skills so we can adopt the fuel,” Delobel said.
Back on the ground, it has become ever clearer that commercial transport is likely to lead the hydrogen charge on our roads. Stephan Herbst, Technical Head Powertrain Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Business at Toyota Motor Europe, told the Summit that a combination of heavy-duty high-power demand, and a need for fast refuelling makes hydrogen the “ideal” solution for decarbonising commercial vehicles.
Jean-Michel Billig, Chief Technology Officer Hydrogen Mobility at Stellantis agreed, adding, that customers desire a turnkey solution, of both vehicles and refuelling infrastructure.
On the front of infrastructure, despite EU-level goals showing desire to establish hydrogen refuelling stations along key routes on the continent, Nicolas Brahy, General Counsel of Hy24 said more work is required.
“If you really want to decarbonise mobility, we need infrastructure policy,” said Brahy. “Filling stations are a precondition of hydrogen mobility. Hy24 is willing to invest vast amount of money in the infrastructure, but we need to get policy in place so we can do it fast enough to deliver on decarbonisation.”
As the Summit shifted to the discussion industry, Thierry Lepercq, founder and President of HyDeal told attendees that customers of all kinds want prices, services, delivery, guarantees, and that it is “no different for hydrogen.”
“The idea that hydrogen is a different product that doesn’t need customers, that is something for the good of mankind, and that it is for the Government to do is wrong,” Lepercq said. “it’s a market and it has to start with money.”
Lepercq’s comments come a day on from the European Commission’s announced intentions to offer subsidies for green hydrogen production.
Read more: European Commission plans to subsidise green hydrogen production
The HyDeal President added that the whole hydrogen value chain must be implemented to meet industrial cost of large volumes of green hydrogen.
As the holding and management company for the steel industry of Saarland, Germany, looking to introduce green hydrogen into its manufacturing to cut emissions, Jonathan Weber, Chief Operating Officer at Stahl-Holding-Saar, said that despite clear European Commission support for hydrogen, somethings remain out of place.
“It is difficult to explain to our shareholders what the business model is when it is not clear what green hydrogen is, how Contracts for Difference work, and how the subsidies will come to us,” Weber said.
As industry looks to introduce hydrogen into its operations, Lepercq said, “You want to import hydrogen from where it’s abundant,” saying customer demand must be satisfied by low-cost hydrogen, rather than European-produced, telling the Summit that “90% of Europe’s hydrogen will be imported from Africa.”
Read more: Africa could produce 30-60 million tonnes of hydrogen annually
As the second and final day of Hyvolution draws to a close, it is evident that conviction continues to run deep across the hydrogen industry of Europe. However, questions of how regulation, policy, subsidies, and business cases should be implemented are yet to be answered, and look set to continue to be points of heated discussion for a while longer.