Three questions to Oliver Weinmann, new board member of Hydrogen Europe.
Hydrogen can play an essential role for the decarbonisation of society and in particular reducing the CO2-emissions sectors such as steel and chemical industry but also heavy duty and public transport.
Hydrogen Europe is a European branch association based in Brussels, representing more than 150 companies, national associations and research centres active in the area of hydrogen. Recently Vattenfall took a seat at the organisation’s board as Oliver Weinmann, Managing Director of Vattenfall Innovation was elected a new board member. Weinmann will represent the energy sector.
What does this mean to Vattenfall, Oliver Weinmann?
“It shows that our engagement is taken seriously, and Vattenfall seen as one of the key players in this field. I see a lot of benefits: to be a board member will increase our networking opportunities towards the industry as well as to European politics and the European Commission and will strengthen our opportunity to shape hydrogen deployment. Personally, I am looking very much forward to be engaged in the European scene to promote a crucial part of the energy transition,”
What topics will you drive in the board?
“At present we are at the beginning of the market scale-up of hydrogen and we need to accelerate the development. This concerns the production of hydrogen with renewable and fossil free energy as well as the use of hydrogen to decarbonise industry, transport, and – in a longer perspective – also the heating sector. To achieve this, an investment-friendly regulatory framework for hydrogen produced from renewable sources is necessary. Today, this is not always the situation and we argue for a level playing field for renewable hydrogen compared to fossil fuels. The European Commission is looking into the future regulatory framework for hydrogen, that eventually will also be applicable in the various member states.”
How important is hydrogen for Vattenfall?
“Hydrogen produced from renewable energy will be a key element to help our customers to decarbonise areas where direct electrification is not possible. Together with project partners, we are conducting several promising projects and initiatives such as HYBRIT in Sweden and HySynGas in Germany. And as a leading operator of wind farms today, we want to play an important role in delivering the renewable electricity needed to produce the demand of renewable hydrogen. This fits perfectly our vision to enable fossil-free living within one generation,” Weinmann says.
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