The conference, which the Next Wave project co-organised, was held in Trondheim the 28th to 29th of April. The main focus was on action and the next steps in hydrogen. In his opening remarks, Klaus Skytte, CEO of Nordic Energy Research, stressed the need to invest and collaborate:
“The aim is to translate strong Nordic capabilities into investments, aligned policies, and cross-border collaboration,” Klaus Skytte said.
“Clearer direction is needed to unlock investments. High costs and political uncertainty are obstacles to progress. What is needed is clear leadership and more reliable policy frameworks,” said Cecilia Wallmark, associate professor at Luleå University of Technology and project lead of H2SIPP and H2AMN.
As hydrogen solutions are entering the deployment phase, large-scale deployment is very important. On stage there were several examples of this: Next Wave, Volvo, SINTEF, NORHyWAY and Torghatten.
Tejs Laustsen Jensen, CEO of Hydrogen Denmark, pointed out unnecessary differences in policy approaches across the Nordic countries:
“We could be a lighthouse of inspiration for Europe if we worked better together,” he said.
Predictability is key
Lin April Løstegård from NHF said that predictability is key, and that we should build on the existing framework rather than pivoting away from climate policy:
“As hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels are being made available, efforts must focus on stimulating demand. As the market develops from pilot to scale, support programmes must continuously evolve, supporting further scaling of bunkering, increasing funding for industry and reintroducing a programme for hydrogen refuelling stations, and maintaining a predictable framework for the maritime sector,” she said.
In her closing remarks Mirela Atanasiu, Head of Unit Operations at the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, said that currently there is momentum behind Nordic hydrogen cooperation, stretching into Central and Southern Europe.
Read more on the Nordic Energy Research website and download material.