German government signs off on hydrogen import strategy

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's government on Wednesday adopted a strategy for the import of hydrogen to help secure sustainable energy supply as it embarks on creating fossil fuel alternatives for large parts of its industry.

Hydrogen, provided it is green, so produced in an electrolysis of water using renewable electricity, can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.

The strategy maps out how and from where Germany will import hydrogen, where transport and value chains are built in ports and pipeline systems, how trade is to be organised and certified.

It is meant to be a signal to potential suppliers that their offers are welcome.

"The import strategy is a major building block of Germany's hydrogen policy and complements the involvement of the government in the domestic market ramp-up," a statement from the Economy Ministry said.

Germany expects it will need between 95 and 120 terawatt hours (TWh) of hydrogen per year by 2030 and 360-500 TWh by 2045 to reach its goal of climate neutrality, with imports expected to cover 50-70% of those needs.

The figures imply that Germany's hydrogen-based energy consumption in 2045 would match the country's total power demand forecast in 2030.

The countries initially expected to deliver either green hydrogen or a so-called blue variety, made with natural gas in a process where the CO2 released in production gets captured and stored, are Norway, Britain and Denmark.

Energy industry group BDEW, commenting on the strategy, said that it needed to prioritise targets that ensured the rapid arrival of hydrogen and bring down prices to competitive levels.

A nationwide plan for a hydrogen transport network was unveiled on Tuesday for approval by the energy regulator.

(Reporting by Markus Wacket, writing by Vera Eckert, editing by Tomasz Janowski)