Europe counts on us. Ukraine has launched an elaboration of the strategy for the development of the hydrogen economy

Initial developments on hydrogen strategy of Ukraine will be presented in January. This was stated at the first meeting of the working group for the development of the hydrogen strategy by the President of the «Ukrainian Hydrogen Council» Oleksandr Riepkin. The online meeting was attended by more than 30 specialists from various fields.

 

The European Union considers Ukraine as a main supplier of hydrogen to Europe. A strong strategy is needed to develop hydrogen technology and become a carrier of alternative fuels, as Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal once said.

"Europe considers us as a key exporter of hydrogen, hydrogen fuel and next-generation energy in the near future," said the President of the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council Oleksandr Riepkin. "And we are actively working to achieve this as soon as possible. Our work produced tangible results: the first gas stations are being designed, the first hydrogen car will be registered closer to the beginning of next week. This is a significant breakthrough, a huge step towards a hydrogen future. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) monitors the potential of individual hydrogen production and consumption. There will be other projects that will receive EBRD funding in the next three years. These are the terms that are spelled out in the European Hydrogen Strategy, where Ukraine is."

According to him, the plan is as follows. The State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine assumes the function of combining proposals on the structure of the strategy, working out the issue of donor involvement and international technical assistance projects, and the first details of the regulation of hydrogen energy development will be presented in September this year.

"In parallel, we will work with the GTS operator to work on the use of the gas transmission system for hydrogen transportation," said the President of the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council. "The issue of modernization of the GTS will be considered - we are planning to carry out it in November. After the development of the strategy concept, an action plan for the implementation of the strategy itself will be elaborated. We will finish in December. We will discuss the first edition with implementation plans in January 2022."

In February, the working group plans a round table discussion, then - approval of the document in accordance with the law. In June 2022, it will be submitted to the government.

Hydrogen is a key priority in Green Deal dialogue of Ukraine with Europe, said the European Commission spokesman Torsten Wollert, who was also present at the meeting. The EU is currently discussing how to use the Ukrainian GTS to transport hydrogen, and has already agreed to collaborate. The European Commission calculates what investments are needed to prepare the GTS for the active transportation of hydrogen to EU countries.