(Berlin, Germany) - The German Bundestag passed the Hydrogen Acceleration Act (HydrogenBG) with a majority vote from the governing coalition of the CDU and SPD, against the votes of the opposition parties (as we reported). Among other things, the law aims to expedite projects by reducing bureaucratic hurdles. The debate in the nearly empty Reichstag building lasted barely half an hour. We are documenting some statements and opinions from the governing coalition, the opposition, and various associations.
Kramling (CDU): "Faster implementation"
Fabian Kramling (CDU) emphasized the anticipated increase in speed: speed in permitting, speed in awarding contracts, and speed in infrastructure development, as he put it. "To maintain Germany's position as an industrial nation, we need a strong hydrogen economy." The law places the entire value chain in the overriding public interest so that "we can move more quickly from planning to implementation." However, this is only one milestone; one must think "within a European framework." Cooperation with Norway and Denmark should not "fail due to ideological differences." "If we continue as we did under Habeck, we will bury the hydrogen rollout."
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Scheirig (AfD): “Not competitive”
“We’re debating your hydrogen dreams,” Raimond Scheirig (AfD) attacked the government. “Hydrogen won’t solve Germany’s energy problems.” Hydrogen is “far too expensive” and will neither be available in relevant quantities nor in demand in the foreseeable future. “This law won’t change that either.” It will only ensure one thing: that “taxpayer money is being pumped into uncompetitive technologies.” “We need a complete 180-degree energy transition policy to even be able to keep this country going,” he said: “Reverse the nuclear phase-out, stop the coal phase-out, cut subsidies, lower taxes, import cheap energy.”
Özdemir (SPD): "Building energy resilience"
“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,” Mahmut Özdemir (SPD) quoted Confucius at the start of his speech. The same applies to hydrogen, he said. “With this law, we want to establish security of supply and energy resilience.” Authorities should set priorities and treat hydrogen with “overriding interest.” Climate neutrality should be achieved in the next 20 years “also with the important component of green hydrogen.” Companies and tradespeople who think in 10-year cycles when making purchases need “investment reliability.” In addition to the conversion and upgrading of gas pipelines, ports will also be explicitly included for export, storage, and transshipment. When extending electricity price compensation for green hydrogen beyond 2029, investment security must be ensured. It is also important to enshrine the exemption from grid fees for electrolyzers beyond 2029.
Uhlig (Greens): “A gift to the gas industry”
Katrin Uhlig (Alliance 90/The Greens) stated that she "doesn't deny that we urgently need more electrolyzers in Germany to produce more hydrogen domestically." She added that industry is ahead of the federal government and is already investing. "This law is long overdue." She emphasized the need for further efforts in the core hydrogen network, where anchor customers are lacking. However, she acknowledged that the legislation now creates "opportunities to build new plants that produce hydrogen from natural gas." She cautioned that this does not make Germany "independent of countries that could refuse gas supplies at any time" and creates opportunities for investments "that you already know won't be sustainable in the long run." She concluded that this is "yet another gift to the gas industry." She asserted that "in addition to a functioning hydrogen infrastructure, we need more renewables and more storage technology – that's where investments belong, not in infrastructure desperately trying to keep fossil fuels alive."
Cezanne (Left Party): "Increase demand through quotas"
Jörg Cezanne (The Left Party) criticized the law, saying it "dissolves the clear definition of green hydrogen." The expansion targets for electrolyzers to ten gigawatts by 2030 have been scrapped without replacement. The ramp-up now lacks firm targets, and the approval process for blue hydrogen is being accelerated. "It would be better," Cezanne argued, "to use surplus green electricity, whose generation plants are shut down due to a lack of grid capacity, directly in hydrogen production facilities and thus for electricity storage." The hydrogen ramp-up isn't failing because of bureaucratic hurdles, but because of "economic uncertainty regarding production volumes and achievable prices." "The market doesn't regulate anything here because it doesn't exist." Demand must be specifically increased, for example, through quotas for green steel in the automotive sector or for rail transport. "The energy transition is being slowed down, and the gas lobby's every wish is being granted."
Moser (CSU): “Structural law for industrial locations”
“We are in the midst of the biggest transformation since the beginning of the industrial age,” says Christian Moser (CSU). Hydrogen is playing an increasingly crucial role in this transformation. “It is the missing piece where electrification alone is insufficient: steel, chemicals, aviation, heavy goods transport.” The law is “not a niche law for individual sectors, but a structural law for our industrial base” and creates planning certainty for companies that want to invest now: “We need hydrogen quickly, reliably, and more cheaply than it is now, and in large quantities.”
Weiser (AfD): “The hydrogen economy is a dead horse”
For Matthias Weiser (AfD), the debate surrounding the hydrogen rollout demonstrates "the dead end the federal government has entered with its unattainable goal of a climate-neutral economy." He argues that the technology is not competitive and the market is driven by central planning. Energy-intensive industries are being permanently cross-subsidized. "The establishment of a green hydrogen economy is a dead horse, and it's time to abandon it."
Kappe (CDU): “The law is not a speedboat”
Niklas Kappe (CDU) sees the "real reason" why the hydrogen rollout in Germany isn't gaining as much momentum "as we would like" in the costs of hydrogen production. These are two to four times higher. compared to energy production with natural gas. There is no lack of a clear commitment from the government to the technology. "We need climate neutrality by realistically identifying the problems and asking what we as a state can do, namely accelerate planning and simplify procedures – and that is exactly what we are doing with this law." However, the law is "not a speedboat," and its implementation will "take some time." Addressing the AfD, Kappe says: "To talk hydrogen to death here or to claim that the climate goals are pointless is the kind of rhetoric that will lead us astray."
BDEW: “Quotas for green steel”
Kerstin Andreae, Chair of the BDEW Executive Board, welcomed in a statement from the association the extension of the law to include plants for the production of low-carbon hydrogen. "This creates the conditions for the rapid expansion of additional production capacities." In the initial ramp-up phase, low-CO2 hydrogen is an important complement to hydrogen from renewable energy sources.
However, ramping up the hydrogen economy requires a more holistic approach that considers all market segments. In particular, the RFNBO requirements at the EU level are significantly increasing the cost of this energy carrier. A clear regulatory and financing framework is needed for developing the infrastructure, as well as for hydrogen storage. In addition to improvements in production and transport, the demand side must also be specifically strengthened. Suitable instruments include establishing binding lead markets and concrete demand anchors, for example for green steel.
DVGW: “Deadlines still too long”
“The fact that hydrogen pipelines and facilities for production, import, and storage are now explicitly recognized as projects of overriding public interest sends an important signal for ensuring a secure and climate-friendly energy supply in the future,” says Gerald Linke, Chairman of the Board of the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW). “This confirms our demand to make it easier to convert pipelines currently used for gas supply to hydrogen.” Planning certainty for businesses, research institutions, industry, SMEs, and private consumers will be strengthened.
However, the law falls short of the requirements for a comprehensive hydrogen rollout "in crucial areas." Thirteen-month deadlines for planning approval procedures are "still far too long." Here, "a substantial exemption from approval procedures" would be advisable. Furthermore, "an expansion of the legal framework regarding market incentives" is needed to "accelerate the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy with the necessary force."
GaWa: "Carbon Management also benefits"
“With the Hydrogen Acceleration Act, policymakers are speeding up the market ramp-up,” says Timm Kehler, CEO of the German Association for Gas and Hydrogen Industry (VGH). “Hydrogen will play a central role in decarbonization. It’s a positive development that low-carbon hydrogen is also included. This means that carbon management projects and corresponding import chains can also benefit from the acceleration regulations.” By considering hydrogen derivatives, ammonia crackers, and including synthetic gases and blue hydrogen, the law creates “a broader range of supply options, increases investment security, and gets the hydrogen market moving.”
Photo above
Debate before the adoption of the Hydrogen Acceleration Act in the Bundestag, held before many empty seats. At the lectern: Fabian Kramling (CDU). © Screenshot ARD/Phoenix Parliament
