Local Business Advisory Council Meeting on Green Hydrogen

On 19 May, the Local Business Advisory Council under the Indo-German Energy Forum met to discuss potential opportunities in large scale green hydrogen production in India. Ms. Peggy Schulz, Deputy Head of Division in the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) presented upcoming German funding guidelines for international green hydrogen projects. The national hydrogen strategy of Germany published in June 2020 is part of the green recovery package in reaction to COVID-19. The Government of Germany has committed more than 9 billion Euros to support the establishment of a hydrogen economy. One billion Euro is foreseen for green hydrogen project developments outside Europe. One of the goals of the national hydrogen strategy is to establish 5 Gigawatt (GW) of electrolyser capacity until 2030 and 10 GW of electrolyser capacity until 2040 in Germany. 

In this meeting, Ms. Schulz elaborated how a German company can benefit from this substantial financial support for their hydrogen projects developed in India. This is because it is a global effort to bring down the cost of hydrogen and Germany will remain a net importer of energy in a climate neutral world. Mr. Stefan Halusa, Managing Director of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) of foreign trade in India welcomed the participants and kindly offered to arrange for further meetings to promote and specify possible hydrogen projects in India. Participants at the Local Business Advisory Council were German companies, business associations, representatives from the BMWi, the AHK in India, Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Indo-German Energy Forum Support Office (IGEF-SO).

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