(Berlin/New Delhi) – Germany and India want to cooperate more closely on hydrogen in the future. An agreement between Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Indian Energy Minister RK Singh covers the areas of production, further processing, application and transport of green hydrogen. The aim is to promote its market ramp-up and thus make the energy source economical. The energy partnership is “an important milestone in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Habeck.
India as a location for hydrogen production
Due to the good conditions for the generation of renewable electricity, India could become an important global production location for green hydrogen in the long term. The “Global Hub” announced by Prime Minister Modi last year is of great interest to the German economy. Electrolysers developed by German companies could be used to produce green hydrogen. German technology providers are also working on solutions along the entire value chain. This includes, for example, the further processing of hydrogen into synthetic fuels such as e-kerosene.
Establish a task force
The cooperation also includes the establishment of a task force within the existing German-Indian Energy Partnership (“Indo-German Energy Forum”). This will promote the creation of a close network between government, industry and research institutes in both countries. Furthermore, a roadmap with specific measures should support the market ramp-up of green hydrogen. The task force should also facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the areas of regulation, standards and safety procedures as well as sustainability criteria.
The task force is supported by the Energy Partnership office in New Delhi and Berlin. The German-Indian Energy Forum (IGEF) was founded in 2006 at head of government level “to create an official dialogue platform for high-ranking political decision-makers, financial institutions, industrial and research organizations that intensifies bilateral cooperation on the energy transition in Germany and India.” the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Hydrogen also from Norway and the UAE
Robert Habeck was already on a similar mission in Scandinavia and the Middle East in mid-March. So he had with that norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre agreed to cooperate on energy issues with the aim of “importing large volumes of hydrogen from Norway to Germany as quickly as possible”.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the minister had signed cooperation agreements to supply hydrogen to Germany “this year”. Habeck also initiated energy partnerships in Qatar during his visit.
Photos
In order to advance the energy transition in India and stabilize the country's electricity supply, the federally owned Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) supported the country on behalf of the federal government with a loan of 140 million euros at the beginning of the year. © KfW
