Norway moves forward with hydrogen roadmap

In Norway, the government published a road map for hydrogen with a short-term ambition to establish hubs for hydrogen in the area of maritime transport and to boost hydrogen research and longer-term goal for Norway to be a low-emission society by 2050.

The vision presented in the roadmap is that by 2050 a market for the production and use of hydrogen will have been established in Norway. In the short-term, the government will seek to facilitate, in collaboration with the private sector, the establishment of five hydrogen hubs in the area of maritime transportation by 2025. It will also, in collaboration with the private sector, strive for the establishment of one or two industrial projects with associated production facilities, as well as five to ten pilot projects for the development and demonstration of new, more cost-effective hydrogen solutions and technologies.

In its revised national budget, the government proposed to strengthen financing for the development of infrastructure and markets for hydrogen, and to establish a research centre for environmentally friendly energy (FME) with a focus on hydrogen and ammonia.

In the medium term – up to 2030 – the government’s ambition is that hydrogen will be established as a realistic alternative in the maritime sector, and that there will be the prospect of market-based development.

There are already considerable funding schemes supporting the development of hydrogen. The coordination of funding agencies is a key element of this roadmap and will make it easier for the authorities to closely monitor and follow up good ideas and initiatives that emerge in the hydrogen sector. The Research Council of Norway and Enova are launching a partnership called HEILO Hydrogen as an energy carrier for low emissions and transition.