NS HyMaP Conference Examines Hydrogen Strategies and International Co-operation in the North Sea Region

The North Sea Hydrogen Ports and Maritime Community (NS HyMaP) is to hold a one day Conference looking at the important role played by Hydrogen Strategies and International Co-operation in the North Sea Region. The Conference will be held in Edinburgh on Thursday 23 June 2022

The European Union and all national governments  in the Region, apart from Sweden,  have published hydrogen strategies which have been followed by the publication of action plans and the development of key projects to deliver these strategies.  The Conference will look at the aims and objectives behind the documents, the way that they are implemented,  monitored and developed plus  the vital need for international co-operation to develop a hydrogen economy in the North Sea Region.

Individual strategies will be discussed.  This will begin by looking at  the UK Hydrogen Strategy and publications that have developed from the Strategy.  Devolution is an important aspect in these strategies and we will also look at the Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Statement and its Action Plan

Strategies from other parts of the North Sea will be outlined such as Germany, Netherlands and the EU.  Many of the strategies are very ambitious with exacting production targets.  A number of them were delayed as key debates surrounded the role of hydrogen and the type of hydrogen to be produced.    The afternoon session will look at hydrogen maritime strategies and the progress of the UK Clean Maritime Plan by presenting some of the hydrogen projects that have been funded under the Plan.

In July 2020, the EU’s Hydrogen Strategy stated that “The international dimension is an important part of the EU approach.   Clean hydrogen offers new opportunities for re-designing Europe’s energy partnerships with both neighbouring countries and regions and its international, regional and bilateral partners.”

This  key area of international co-operation will be discussed: particularly the need to collaborate across the North Sea in terms of research, innovation and  in the creation of a North Sea hydrogen economy.  Import and export flows across the Region will also be crucial.  A number of reports have stressed the need for mainland Europe to import green hydrogen in the middle of the 2020s while parts of Scandinavia and the United Kingdom will be developing export markets. In its Strategy published in July 2020, the European Union stated that “The international dimension is an integral part of the EU approach. Clean hydrogen offers new opportunities for re-designing Europe’s energy partnerships with both neighbouring countries and regions and its international, regional and bilateral partners.”

 It is imperative that this Conference helps lay the foundations for stronger international co-operation across the North Sea Region. The words quoted from the EU Hydrogen Strategy are even more relevant today!

Please register on the European Policy Solutions website www.europeanpolicysolutions.com  Click on the seminar button and that should take you to the Conference Page. For further information, please contact Jon Jordan at [email protected]  or phone Jon at +44 1259 781404.