Hydrogen technologies in the energy system: the international perspective

Across the world, it’s widely accepted that in order to conserve resources and protect the climate, we must phase out the use of fossil fuels entirely by the middle of the century. Furthermore, a large portion of our production processes must be converted in pursuit of a circular economy. The key elements in this process will be hydrogen produced through carbon-neutral processes, the longer-chain molecules that are synthetically produced in this process, and material energy carriers and chemical raw materials in a large number of mobility and industry-related products. Since the effects of using up resources and producing CO2 are fundamentally a matter of international concern, the transformation process can only take place if there is international collaboration based on a common set of defined rules. This applies to the research on and development of the relevant technologies, as well as their application and promotion. The chapter will provide an overview of the agreements, initiatives, goals and successes associated with this international collaboration.