As Europe navigates the energy transition, understanding the role that hydrogen will play is becoming increasingly pivotal. By 2030, Europe aims to both produce and import 10 million tonnes of hydrogen, intended to drive a significant shift from grey to green hydrogen usage in existing end-use sectors and to supply new industries.

However, there is growing realism about the sectors where this hydrogen can and should be used, given high production costs and challenges associated with deploying the necessary infrastructure at scale. The focus is narrowing on sectors where hydrogen is the only viable decarbonisation solution. Understanding how and when demand will develop in these sectors is crucial.

Meeting targets also depends on closing the gap between the cost of renewable hydrogen production and the price at which offtakers are willing to pay. Higher than anticipated costs and regulatory requirements around power sourcing have pushed up expected Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) in many countries. While the EU has set mandates for using renewable hydrogen in some sectors, the required incentives and penalties have typically not been implemented at the national level.

Auctions to provide support have begun across Europe, successfully investing around £2 billion in the UK, 720 million € by the European Hydrogen Bank, 245.6 million € in the Netherlands, and 167.7 million € in Denmark. These projects are expected to bring forward the deployment of 2.071 GW and have shown that the willingness to pay in some sectors is higher than anticipated. However, access to offtakers remains a key challenge for many developers.

As regulations around what can be classified as low carbon or renewable hydrogen have become clearer, some regions are also emerging as potential future hubs for hydrogen production, most notably Iberia and the Nordic countries. These regions benefit from access to low-cost power that meets regulatory requirements, given the high renewable penetration in their power systems. However, developers in these countries face additional risks associated with transport and storage infrastructure requirements.

Given this landscape, the Aurora Hydrogen Conference 2024 assessed how demand for hydrogen will evolve against the background of the emerging policy frameworks and subsidy regimes and the factors driving investment decisions in some markets.

Delegates had the opportunity to hear from leading experts in the energy industry as they dived into topics of financing, deployment, and policy perspectives on the future of European hydrogen.

Providing a great platform for networking, the Aurora Hydrogen Conference offered plenty of opportunities for interaction during the day, including a drinks reception in the evening.