EU-India must develop strong cooperation on green hydrogen: Kadri Simson

New Delhi: European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said that Solar and hydrogen energy are both game changers for the energy transition, so there is need to develop a “strong cooperation” on green hydrogen between EU and India to meet global demand. 

Kadri Simson was speaking at the first inaugural session of EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum in New Delhi, in the presence of India’s Minister for Power and Renewable Energy R K Singh and stressed upon the need to generate energy from solar, wind and  hydropower to reduce the dependability of fossil fuels.

“This is the first edition of the EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum, which I hope will be the first of many and a milestone in the development of a strong cooperation on green hydrogen between EU and India” she said.

Talking about the strategic investment in energy security, she said any additional energy we generate from solar, wind, hydropower or biomass means less dependence on fossil fuels.

“What we need is a shift in speed, not direction. Already, in both India and the EU, we have our sights set on net zero: the EU by 2050, and India by 2070. And India has committed to producing 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy by 2030” she added.

Commissioner Simson also stressed that the European Union would be keen to explore with financing partners the possibility of building a pipeline of hydrogen projects in India, leveraging private sector investments in innovative technology under the framework of EU Global Gateway initiative.

The EU and India have set ambitious programmes and targets for wider adoption of green hydrogen. While India announced its National Hydrogen Mission last year, the EU launched the European Hydrogen Strategy in 2020.

She mentioned the recent geopolitical event as a “wake up call, and said as a result, we ramped up our efforts on hydrogen even further. In May we came out with our REPowerEU Plan, our blueprint to become fully independent from Russian fossil fuels. As part of that, we aim to be at 45% renewable energy in our mix by 2030”.

“This is significantly more than our current agreed target of 32% and includes an additional 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen, bringing our goal to 20 million by 2030” she said.

Calling the global hydrogen market a necessity, she said  the EU and India can learn from one another on international standards, on research and innovation and on policy frameworks, adding “we want to work with you and financing partners in view of a hydrogen project pipeline in India”.

“Our clear priority is renewable hydrogen. From what I’ve seen during my visit here, and during the discussions on solar energy yesterday, the EU and India have a similar vision” she added.

The forum focussed on exchanging best practices and policies on the role of hydrogen in energy systems, discussing the state of play of existing and upcoming hydrogen projects in the EU and India as well as clean hydrogen production.