Hydrogen could play a role in EU defence considerations, as governments are placing an emphasis on resilience, writes Stefan Krumpelmann
Vows by European leaders to boost defence spending have left climate policy advocates worried that efforts to reduce emissions could fall by the wayside. But the renewed focus on security and resilience could also present fresh opportunities for the struggling clean hydrogen sector.
Funding otherwise earmarked for "green" initiatives could now be redirected to the defence sector and the first shifts have already taken place, for instance in Poland. For clean hydrogen, any cuts to public funding could be particularly detrimental, given its continued reliance on large subsidies.
But funding for green technologies could follow behind the increased defence spending. In return for waving through a €500bn ($548bn) package for defence and infrastructure, Germany's Green party was instrumental in getting conservative CDU/CSU and social-democratic SPD to include €100bn for climate protection. Some of this is likely to go to the hydrogen sector, government officials have said.
In any case, hydrogen and defence industry participants alike point to synergies between their sectors, noting that an increased focus on security could speed up technological progress on hydrogen and bring down costs in the process.
Renewable hydrogen production, storage and fuel cell systems could play a key role in bolstering energy independence — and therefore resilience — of military camps, radar stations and other critical infrastructure such as hospitals, according to Christian Trapp, chairman of the board at the German armed forces university's research centre for mobility and renewable energy.
In the past, development of such systems was primarily driven by sustainability considerations, Trapp told the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Public Forum at the Hanover Trade Fair on 3 April. But now "the ministry of defence is asking for resilience and this is a key gamechanger" as it "justifies" higher investments.
Defence companies have investigated potential applications for hydrogen and derivatives for some time. Germany's Rheinmetall told Argus in 2023 that synthetic fuels made domestically could help reduce reliance on fuel supply from abroad while allowing for decentralised production that would be "unattackable".
Use of hydrogen and derivatives could also offer other benefits. Its proponents point to lower noise and heat profiles of military vehicles running on fuel cells instead of combustion engines, which would make them harder to detect.
German fuel cell firm SFC Energy sees that its investments in defence applications are now starting to pay off, the firm's chief executive, Peter Podesser, has said. SFC has developed portable hydrogen and methanol fuel cells for more than 20 years as a more lightweight alternative to batteries that produces less noise and heat. But until recently, it "almost had to hide" military applications "from an ESG [environmental, social and governance] perspective", Podesser said.
Larger defence budgets could aid hydrogen in more indirect ways as well. Lead markets have been the talk of the town lately when it comes to reinvigorating Europe's hydrogen efforts. The concept remains vague in many respects, but the more concrete proposals include "green" criteria — or even quotas — for public procurement. This could cover, for instance, green steel procurement by the armed forces. At the Hanover event, the German economy and climate protection ministry's head of industrial policy, Beate Baron, signalled openness to the idea, but said more work is needed on certification of low-emission products.
