VIENNA, 6 JULY 2022 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) provided its Member States with an online introduction to the different types of colour-based hydrogen (for example green and blue) together with a classification that quantifies the hydrogen’s CO2 content or carbon footprint.

“Hydrogen is a global affair that we can only move forward together”, said Petra Schwager, Chief of the Climate and Technology Partnerships Division. “We are therefore further expanding our Global Partnership for hydrogen in industry as we believe that it will drive renewable energy production”.

The online discussion provided an overview of the hydrogen colours as well as the transition towards identifying hydrogen production through measuring its CO2 content. Furthermore, numerous hydrogen initiatives were presented by government and industry representatives.

“Emissions along the hydrogen value chain should be identified beyond its production sources”, said Alicia Eastman, President of InterContinental Energy. “As a green producer, a certification process is of utmost importance to be able to draw adequate comparisons”.

“While certification is important, we also need to avoid new trading barriers as project developers cannot afford to work on too many different schemes”, said Hans Dieter Hermes, Vice President of Clean Hydrogen. “It is important to focus more on the current barriers and instances to close the gap”.

Other high-level participants included Nangula Uaandja, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, who spoke of her country’s green hydrogen production facilities that concur with the growing investment stemming from renewable energy potential in the country; Eduardo Soriano, Director of Applied Technologies, Department of the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation of Brazil, who pointed out that the establishment of certifications and standards are needed to determine what type of hydrogen to produce in the country; and Tudor Constantinescu, Principal Adviser to the Director General for Energy of the European Commission, who introduced the EU hydrogen strategy and RePowerEU Plan, which will give additional support to hydrogen valleys across the European Union.

Within the framework of the Global Partnership for Hydrogen in Industry, UNIDO will centre its work on accelerating the uptake of green hydrogen from the production to its end-use. Echoing the interest gathered from, and the requests expressed by Member States, UNIDO will address the needs and priorities identified and proceed with a series of key activities focusing on policy dialogue.

Petra Schwager

Chief of the Climate and Technology Partnerships Division, UNIDO

[email protected]