The energy system of the future took clearer form this month when the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch based in Brussels, adopted two closely related strategies. Its new Hydrogen Strategy is central to its Strategy for Energy System Integration, both adopted the same day. The new strategies presume that hydrogen will play an indispensable role in a future ultra-low carbon energy system. Hydrogen will function as an ‘integration’ technology with applications across sectors that raise the efficiency of the Continent’s entire energy system. It is a key component of the EC’s Green Deal, which aims for a strict 2030 emission-reduction target and the elimination of net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The new strategies, taken together, show how a ‘hydrogen economy’ will actually work in Europe and elsewhere. And, considering that hydrogen accounts for less than 1% of Europe’s energy consumption today, they show a remarkable commitment to […]