Germany and China are pioneers of the global Energiewende, i.e. the energy transition towards a green and sustainable economy. While renewable energies have already become competitive in both countries’ power sectors, and are starting to gain shares in the heating sector, some sectors are much more difficult to decarbonize. For these sectors, such as heavy industry, petrochemical industry and long-distance freight transport, hydrogen from renewable sources could become a viable solution in the mid-term future.

Currently, Germany and China are both looking into possibilities for leveraging the industrial and transformative potential of hydrogen. Germany is planning to pilot the utilization of hydrogen in several demonstration projects, including projects investigating the potential of hydrogen for balancing renewables and direct reduction in the steel industry. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is expected to publish a dedicated hydrogen strategy by the beginning of 2020. China too has formulated ambitious targets for developing downstream applications such as fuel cell vehicles. Coal regions, such as Shanxi, understand hydrogen as a promising industry for an era after coal. Hence, within the Sino-German Energy Partnership, China and Germany have agreed to exchange on strategies for the production and utilization of green hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources.