Belgium’s hydrogen strategy and its implementation points
In 2021, the government has adopted a development Belgium’s hydrogen strategy that aims to make the country a European centre for hydrogen technologies. According to the plan, Belgium should become a transit hub for environmentally friendly fuel and significantly increase the volume of its consumption on the domestic market. This will allow the country to become one of the leaders in the hydrogen technology sector.
It’s worth noting that this direction is strategically important for the European Union. Hydrogen is the resource that will make it possible to achieve climate goals and transform the entire energy network. One of the options for implementing this strategy is the production of hydrogen in renewable energy plants, such as solar or wind farms.
The development of hydrogen sector
In 2015, an industrial cluster was set up in Belgium to develop hydrogen energy. At that time, it included 20 specialised companies; by 2024, this number had grown to 165. Industry representatives from Belgium accounted for 80% of the members, while the Netherlands accounted for 20%. Within the cluster, companies work on joint projects and share innovative hydrogen production and use solutions. One such project is developing and producing a 40-tonne truck that runs entirely on environmentally friendly fuel. Another example is the Battolyser technology, a system of batteries and electrolysers that can produce and use hydrogen.
One of the initiators of the strategy, Adwin Martens, notes the increased activity in the Belgian sector and its development:
– a few years ago, 500 people were working here, and now there are almost 1,500;
– just a few years ago, the only use of hydrogen had been in university research. Now, the chemical element has a wide range of practical applications in various fields;
– the government is supporting companies working on hydrogen technology.
A strong incentive for the hydrogen industry, both in Belgium and Europe as a whole, is the nation’s desire for a sustainable economy and a shift to renewable energy as an alternative to the use of fossil fuels. All this increases the demand for hydrogen, which has the potential to become a key green resource.
