Hydrogen roadmap: hubs and research

— Norway’s goal is to be a low-emission society by 2050. Hydrogen may be a vital energy carrier in order to cut emissions, especially in the area of transportation. At the same time, both the market and associated technologies need to develop. We are therefore directing our efforts at these areas, says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tina Bru.

The vision presented in the roadmap is that by 2050 a market for the production and use of hydrogen will have been established in Norway. In the short-term, the government will seek to facilitate, in collaboration with the private sector, the establishment of five hydrogen hubs in the area of maritime transportation by 2025. It will also, in collaboration with the private sector, strive for the establishment of one or two industrial projects with associated production facilities, as well as five to ten pilot projects for the development and demonstration of new, more cost-effective hydrogen solutions and technologies.

In its revised national budget, the government proposed to strengthen financing for the development of infrastructure and markets for hydrogen, and to establish a research centre for environmentally friendly energy (FME) with a focus on hydrogen and ammonia.

In the medium term - up to 2030 - the government’s ambition is that hydrogen will be established as a realistic alternative in the maritime sector, and that there will be the prospect of market-based development.

There are already considerable funding schemes supporting the development of hydrogen. The coordination of funding agencies is a key element of this roadmap and will make it easier for the authorities to closely monitor and follow up good ideas and initiatives that emerge in the hydrogen sector. The Research Council of Norway and Enova are today launching a partnership called HEILO Hydrogen as an energy carrier for low emissions and  transition.

The government launched a hydrogen strategy in June 2020, and this roadmap is a follow-up of that strategy.