ALBERT

Description: This paper discusses the key questions and challenges for promoting international cooperation between the EU and potential international partners within an emerging hydrogen economy. On this basis, it identifies entry-points for related policy action. Specifically, it outlines six policy dimensions that European policymakers should consider when engaging in the development of international partnerships within the emerging hydrogen economy: climate mitigation, green industrial development in Europe, just transitions in partner countries, geopolitics, security of supply, and economic feasibility. Taking these six dimensions as its starting point, the paper presents nine policy messages for the development of an international hydrogen economy within the context of broader decarbonisation efforts in the EU.

Description: This IASS study takes an in-depth look at Covid-19's impacts on the global energy sector, and then zooms in to the country level to see individual country effects and responses. The case studies are compiled by energy researchers in Argentina, China, Germany, India, Israel, and the United States.

Description: Decarbonising heating supply is an important part of the global energy transition, and a vital step towards mitigating climate change. We analyse the transformative potential of German and UK heating sector decarbonisation policies. We deploy Transformative Environmental Policy [TEP], originally developed to guide policy development, as an analytical framework to discuss how and to what extent both countries’ heating sector policy strategies promote the necessary radical reconfiguration of the socio-technical system of heating supply. TEP suggests a systemic approach for such reconfigurations, addressing technologies, social practices, institutions and infrastructures as well as combining experimental support of innovation with governance approaches for the phase-out of unsustainable technologies and practices. Our comparative analysis of German and UK decarbonisation strategies concludes that such elements can be identified in both strategies, although to different degrees. The analysis points to considerable deficiencies, such as a lack of phase-out policies, insufficient low-carbon building standards and a neglect of non-technical system elements.

Description: This chapter provides a review of Germany’s ambitious import-oriented hydrogen strategy. It places the German policy approach in the context of its broader Energiewende (energy transition) strategy, aimed not only at a transition of Germany’s energy and industrial system to carbon neutrality by 2045 but also at the promotion of the German Energiewende approach abroad. The chapter begins by providing a short review of the German Energiewende policy legacy, relating it to it emerging hydrogen policy. On this basis, it provides a comprehensive review of Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy (NHS) with a particular focus on its outward-oriented elements. It discusses Germany’s external hydrogen policy along the following five dimensions: political dialogue and diplomacy (both bilateral and multilateral); interventions aimed at building international supply chains; cooperation in research and innovation; capacity building and skill development; and activities aimed at addressing questions of sustainability. The chapter closes with discussion of key strengths and weaknesses of the strategy and highlights areas for its further development. While Germany's outward-oriented approach is identified as an important strength of the strategy, it could place greater emphasis on cooperation with partners in the EU. Moreover, collaboration with partner countries, both in- and outside the EU, should go beyond the relatively narrow focus on the promotion of hydrogen production and trade. Rather, it should take a broader perspective, aimed at promoting competitive and resilient industrial value chains centered on the EU and its policy and regulatory model. In particular, countries in the European Neighborhood represent important partners in such a strategy. Broadening the scope of cooperation with these countries will also increase the incentives for these countries to engage in partnership development. Finally, the chapter points out that Germany has taken an ambiguous stance on the role that blue hydrogen should play in a future hydrogen economy. While its strategy comes out strongly in favor of green hydrogen, it is also pursuing partnerships for the import of blue hydrogen. This has resulted in a mismatch. While analytical capacities and standardization-related activities are being advanced for green hydrogen production, the government also needs to clearly define its stance on blue hydrogen imports and develop the needed analytical tools and policy instruments for this purpose.

Description: Der Bericht stellt die Resultate einer multikriteriellen Bewertung verschiedener Szenarien eines Kohleausstiegs in Deutschland vor. Die exemplarischen Politikszenarien basieren auf unterschiedlich umfassenden politischen Maßnahmenbündeln und bewegen sich im Spannungsfeld zwischen Ordnungsrecht und Markt. Der transdisziplinäre Bewertungsprozess wurde parallel zur Kohlekommission im Rahmen des Kopernikus-Projektes „Energiewende-Navigationssystem“ (ENavi) erprobt. Hierbei schätzten die Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler des Konsortiums die Folgen der Maßnahmenbündel ab und bewerteten diese anhand von zehn Nachhaltigkeitskriterien. Die so entstandenen Bewertungsvorschläge wurden mit Stakeholdern aus Zivilgesellschaft, Industrie, Wirtschaft und Politik geprüft, diskutiert und verfeinert. Der Bericht gibt einen Überblick zu Prozess, Methodik sowie Ergebnissen der Bewertung. Zudem zeigt er, unter anderem anhand eines Vergleichs mit der Kohlekommission, Verbesserungspotentiale des realisierten Bewertungsverfahrens auf. Die Erfahrungen, Empfehlungen und identifizierten Forschungsbedarfe bieten wertvolle Gestaltungshinweise für zukünftige Projekte mit einer ähnlichen inter- und transdisziplinären Herangehensweise.

Description: This report presents a framework for the systematic monitoring of the global hydrogen economy. It suggests data sources and indicators to systematically survey the most important trends and developments of a future global hydrogen economy. Monitoring based on this framework could provide an important knowledge base for the continuous review of policy measures related to the German and European hydrogen policy.

Description: Im folgenden Bericht wird ein Konzept für ein systematisches Monitoring der globalen Wasserstoffwirtschaft vorgestellt. Der Bericht stellt Datenquellen und Indikatoren zur systematischen Erfassung der wichtigsten Trends und Entwicklungen im Rahmen einer globalen Wasserstoffwirtschaft vor. Ein entsprechendes Monitoring könnte einen wichtigen Beitrag zur kontinuierlichen Überprüfung von Politikmaßnahmen im Rahmen der deutschen und europäischen Wasserstoffpolitik leisten.

Description: This report provides a comprehensive review of China’s emerging hydrogen economy with a particular focus on policy and regulation, both at the national and sub-national level. China’s promotion of the hydrogen sector is emblematic of its broader efforts to promote greenhouse gas reductions, while pursuing ambitious industrial development goals and promoting energy security. To date, industrial policy goals have clearly taken center stage, with a particular focus on fuel cell vehicles. For now, China is pursuing a diversified strategy in support of hydrogen supply, which includes all different types of hydrogen production, including coal-based hydrogen. Nevertheless, policy documents increasingly emphasize the potential of renewable hydrogen as a vehicle for stabilizing an electricity system based on variable renewable energy as well as broader decarbonization efforts. They also increasingly highlight the need to transition to an exclusively renewable hydrogen supply in the future. In a number of cases, local-level strategies have come out more strongly in support of renewable hydrogen than current central government policies. Local-level policy has also played a key role in the promotion of fuel cell vehicles. Policies for hydrogen-based decarbonization of industry are only at a nascent stage. Similarly, China’s ambitions to promote hydrogen storage and transport remain at a relatively early stage of development with an important emphasis on the promotion of innovation and acquisition of technological know-how. Finally, both China’s hydrogen strategy and the engagement of its energy SOEs do not appear to be strongly motivated by considerations of geopolitics at this stage. To be sure, Chinese officials are considering increasing opportunities for investment in hydrogen projects around the world. In this vein, the national hydrogen development plan considers the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for promoting hydrogen-related standards and investments. Beyond these geoeconomic considerations, the role of hydrogen as a future energy commodity and its geopolitical implications do not figure prominently in Chinese policy efforts. Indeed, due to China’s relative abundance of renewable energy resources, it is does not exhibit major vulnerabilities related to the future provision of hydrogen. Conversely, hydrogen could even offer an opportunity to reduce its energy dependence in the future. This and other efforts to shape global hydrogen trade do not seem to be a significant driver of its policy efforts, however.

Description: Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies aim to use carbon dioxide (CO2), either captured from industrial point sources or from the atmosphere, instead of fossil carbon in the production of a variety of valuable goods. CCU has the potential to contribute to emission reductions and to lower raw material consumption as well to foster transitional processes toward a circular economy. To enable societies to take full advantage of this potential, policy support is needed in overcoming current barriers and fostering CCU implementation as a feasible option for the industry. Based on a literature and online investigation, this paper identifies and compares the current policy mixes for CCU in the US and the EU, focusing on policy strategies and existing and proposed policy instruments. The analysis shows that US strategy documents, with very few exceptions, do not mention CCU specifically in the context of the country's 2030 or 2050 climate targets. In the EU, in contrast, the future role of CCU is clearly linked to achieving climate-neutrality by 2050. The main policy instruments to incentivize the implementation of CCU in the US are tax credits (45Q). Moreover, funding exists for research and development efforts. In the EU, many reform proposals are currently underway that could benefit CCU technologies. At present, policy support, for instance through the Renewable Energy Directive, mainly aims at renewable fuels of non-biological origin while in other areas CCU support remains at odds with principles such as “energy efficiency first”. The EU does, however, have a broad range of funding opportunities available for research, development and demonstration projects. The paper uses the cross-regional comparison of policy mixes to formulate policy recommendations to improve policy mixes for CCU. A clearer strategic commitment to CCU, its incorporation into green public procurement guidelines, incorporating CCU across different funding schemes for sustainable energy transition, and ambitious new targets for renewable electricity and green hydrogen, for instance, could help develop the policy mixes further to provide a supportive framework for CCU.