“Hydrogen can be a peacemaker” – Q&A with Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Secretary General of Hydrogen Europe

Hydrogen is increasingly part of the European energy policy debate, both in the context of industrial decarbonisation and security of supply. Although the technology still faces many challenges, especially when it comes to renewable sources, recent years have seen steady progress, and more and more countries and industrial players are taking an interest. In this context, Hydrogen Europe has become a key forum for dialogue between industry and political stakeholders. In our interview, we spoke with Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, the organisation’s Secretary General, about the developments in the Central and Eastern European region.

One thing that is keeping the member states’ governments busy is the Renewable Energy Directive. All of Europe is facing significant difficulties in meeting the strict requirements of the delegated acts, which define green hydrogen as hydrogen produced from renewable sources. Even in Western Europe, compliance is challenging, but in Central and Eastern Europe, it is nearly impossible. Czechia sent a clear message when it said that it cannot transpose the obligations because it doesn’t have enough renewables.

When it comes to concrete projects, some new hydrogen valley proposals from Czechia and Poland have begun to attract investment. We also see the first projects in steel and chemicals. Steelmakers in Slovakia and Poland are looking into hydrogen-based processes to cut emissions. This is one of the reasons why the low-carbon hydrogen definition is now being pushed again, especially by Central and Eastern European governments, because that’s what they can contribute: nuclear, pyrolysis and not that much renewables.

In Hungary, there is a big electrolyser project with MOL, which is particularly important because it’s privately financed, not by the EU. This is a very good development because it shows that industry is picking up electrolysis on its own, while even in the western part of Europe, companies would wait for public funding.

Then we have, in Czechia, a growing interest in manufacturing. Like Hungary, which produces lots of components, Czechia is also active in the automotive sector. And certain parts of manufacturing are now moving into electrolyser production.

We also see in Poland a strong push to reduce coal reliance. At the same time, the country has a big advantage: It has many salt caverns, which are ideal for storing large volumes of hydrogen, including from other parts of Europe. This can also support data centres, which require massive storage capacities.

Besides the countries already mentioned, Ukraine, for example, also deserves attention. The new IEA monitor on Ukraine has just come out and shows how the country can be both a producer of hydrogen, to be used in Central and Eastern European countries, and a manufacturing engine for companies that may want to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Romania could develop into something like Sweden, as it also has nuclear capacity and significant renewable potential. Bulgaria, with a pipeline passing through, can become an important hub. There is also remarkable onshore and offshore potential, although the country is not as spacious as Romania. Still, there is untapped potential in using hydrogen in chemical clusters as well.

Croatia aims to reduce its strong dependency on energy imports, and its long coastline could catalyse renewable production and support the use of hydrogen in maritime transport and local industries. There are also plans for green ammonia imports from Brazil and the Gulf. Additionally, Croatia is pioneering waste-to-hydrogen pyrolysis, including plasma pyrolysis, which splits waste molecules into clean hydrogen and solid carbon, a key source of graphite for electricity production.

Croatia could become a major import hub, and the southern corridor from Azerbaijan via Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and then up through all the CEE countries is also an important foundation. These pipelines are hydrogen-ready. What’s still not done is the connection between Egypt, Israel, Jordan and then Turkey and TANAP.

If the Gulf region is connected via Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, or through existing pipelines from Egypt, enormous amounts of hydrogen can be transported, making it entirely logical to link Israel with Turkey. While it may seem impossible at times, I always say that hydrogen will be a peacemaker. Once everyone understands that it is in our shared interest, they will make it happen. So, make hydrogen, not war – that’s my motto here.

One notable technology in the field of electrolysis is high-temperature electrolysis, also known as Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOEC). Several pilot projects in Czechia and Poland are exploring ways to enhance the efficiency of these solid oxide electrolysers, which is a promising development.

I also mentioned pyrolysis for low-carbon or clean hydrogen, and Hungary is interested in testing methane pyrolysis – a process in which methane is broken down into carbon and hydrogen using heat.

Another area of innovation is carbon capture retrofits. Some older steam methane reforming facilities, such as those in Poland, are testing carbon capture solutions.

Hydrogen is also being used in public transport. For example, in the Užgi region of Czechia, hydrogen-powered buses are in operation, with similar initiatives in Slovakia and Poland, the latter of which is also a producer of hydrogen buses. We are also seeing the emergence of cross-border hydrogen truck corridors between Slovakia, Czechia and Poland.

Finally, there are successful examples in the chemical clusters in Upper Silesia, Poland. Green hydrogen is being used to reduce CO2 emissions in industrial processes and to transition some ammonia production lines to green hydrogen.

When I started working in hydrogen nine and a half years ago, it was a small, very niche sector. The figures we are seeing today far exceed our expectations from back then. However, the war in Ukraine has led to an official over-expectation by the European Commission, which is why we believe the hydrogen transition is not happening at the required pace. In reality, it is progressing at a normal pace, just not the accelerated pace that was initially hyped.

We expect typical market growth, with the scale-up of local electrolysis projects in the range of 10 to 15 megawatts, gradually reaching 100 megawatts by 2028 in Central and Eastern Europe. There will also be price convergence. With the carbon pricing ETS system, national contracts for different schemes, and the rising cost of natural gas, hydrogen could already be competitive by 2027-2028.

Collaborations with renewable energy sources will increase in countries where feasible. Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, and, of course, Ukraine will dramatically boost their domestic hydrogen production.

We also need to transpose the Renewable Energy Directive, but there seems to be some reluctance. Currently, 42 per cent of all hydrogen used in refining and fertiliser production must be green by 2030. Honestly, this is a very challenging task. That’s why we work with so-called lead markets. We want partners to come together and understand who can produce what and who can off-take how much. This is crucial to overcoming the “chicken and egg” dilemma, and the Clean Industrial Deal allows for the establishment of these markets.

We’ve started this process and hope many companies from Central and Eastern Europe will join and co-sign. However, as it’s a voluntary scheme – much like the wind charter from two years ago – we also want member states to commit, so that they can help cover the gap with contracts for difference, or take part in procurement routes where new infrastructure, such as clean steel produced using hydrogen, can be built. These are the elements that will emerge in the coming years and accelerate the development of hydrogen, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.