Europe's Hydrogen Pathways. Toward a balanced partnership with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf

This chapter analyzes the ongoing hydrogen developments of the 27 member states of the European Union and the states outside this treaty-based organization. The focus of this chapter is on current policy and regulatory developments, which have been turbocharged by the war in Ukraine and Europe’s rapidly developing export relations with fossil fuel exporters. Gulf players such as Saudi Arabia are long-standing energy partners for Europe. They not only have the capacity and know-how to produce low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia but also have the additional geopolitical and climate incentive to position themselves as reliable providers of clean energy imports for Europe. However, European policymakers and industries have yet to signal a coherent hydrogen import strategy. This chapter argues that this discord should be replaced by a coordinated European import strategy that balances renewable-based and low-carbon hydrogen. This should be based on a grounded assessment of production and demand capacities across Europe and of export partners such as Saudi Arabia.