SHORTPAPER:AuthorFCHeadingHeadingFCSubheadingSubheadingJanuary2021TheHeraldsofHydrogen:TheeconomicsectorsthataredrivingthehydrogeneconomyinEuropeEnergyInsight82FlorisJacobusAdrianusdeKlerkWolters,GraduateInstituteofInternationalandDevelopmentStudiesI.IntroductionThe2019InternationalEnergyAgency(IEA)reportonthefutureofhydrogenhighlightedtherenewedinterestinhydrogenasapotentialpathwaytoazero-carbonfuture.1Sincethen,manynewprojectshavestartedandmanyinvestmentprogrammesreachingintothebillionsofeuroshavebeenannounced,suchastheearmarkedfundof€9billionforhydrogenaspartoftheCOVID-19recoveryeffortbytheGermangovernment.2Yet,uncertaintyremainsaboutthepreciseroleofhydrogeninEuropeanvisionsoftheenergytransition.ThisraisesquestionsaboutthesupportbaseofthehydrogeneconomyinEurope.WhatpromptscompaniesasdiverseasforinstanceAirbus,BP,Enagás,Fincantieri,Linde,Siemens,Škoda,SNCF,andThyssenkrupptobecomemembersofhydrogenassociations?Whicheconomicsectorsstandoutamongsupportersofthehydrogentransition?Whatistheroleofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)?Theseareallrelevantquestions.Themomentumforhydrogencomesatatimewhenpolicymakersatthesubnational,nationalandsupranationallevelarefacedwiththetaskofrevivingtheireconomiesinresponsetotheCOVID-19crisis.TheEuropeanCommissionrevealeditsofficialhydrogenstrategyinJuly2020.3HydrogenissupposedtobecomeoneofthekeypillarsoftheEuropeanGreenDeal,announcedjustbeforetheCOVID-19crisisstarted.Manynationalpolicymakersareworkingonhydrogentoo,withrecentstrategiespublishedinFranceandGermany,forexample.Atthesametime,wavesofenthusiasmforhydrogenhavesubsidedinthepast,andtheEuropeanCommissionerresponsiblefortheGreenDeal,FransTimmermans,alsowarnsthathydrogenisnosilverbullet.4Thispaperprovidesasnapshotoftheeconomicsectorsthatsupportthehydrogeneconomy,andwhytheydoso.Itanalysesmembershipdataof39hydrogenassociationsacrossEurope(seeAnnexIforalistoftheseassociationsandtheirgeographiclocation),classifying1,670membershipentriesaccordingtotheirbusinessactivities,andthenanalysesthebackgroundtoandreasoningformembers’supportfortheseassociations.Thedatasetgivessomeinsightintoindividualcompanies’influenceand1IEA,‘TheFutureofHydrogen’,SpecialReportforG20Japan(Paris:InternationalEnergyAgency,June2019).2ChristophSteitz,TomKaeckenhoff,andEdwardTaylor,‘GermanyEarmarks$10BillionforHydrogenExpansion’,Reuters,4June2020,https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-stimulus-idUSKBN23B10L.3EuropeanCommission,AHydrogenStrategyforaClimate-NeutralEurope–CommunicationfromtheCommissiontotheEuropeanParliament,theCouncil,theEuropeanEconomicandSocialCommitteeandtheCommitteeoftheRegions(Brussels:EuropeanCommission,2020).4DaveKeating,‘TimmermansSees“pivotalRoleforHydrogen”inMeetingEUClimateGoals’,euractiv.com,25November2019,https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/timmermans-sees-pivotal-role-for-hydrogen-in-meeting-eu-climate-goals/.2Thecontentsofthispaperaretheauthor’ssoleresponsibility.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheOxfordInstituteforEnergyStudiesoranyofitsMembersshedslightonthebreadthoftheemerginghydrogencoalition,thevaryingintereststhatmotivateit,andtheinvestmentitcangenerate.Thepapercategorizesmembershipdirectorydataonallnon-publicentitiesregisteredinhydrogenassociationsacrossEurope.5Theseassociationsaimtopromotehydrogenprojectsandcooperationbe...
