Navigating the Evolving Hydrogen Industry in EMEA

As we enter the last quarter of 2023, our Regional President EMEA for Hydrogen Solutions, Stefan Dreger, reflects upon the year’s significant developments in the hydrogen industry, especially in the European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) region. In this update, Stefan provides insights into our journey through this transformative landscape, with focus on our recent experiences at industry events, his view of the market dynamics, and our commitment to providing the next generation PVD coating solutions.

Meeting the Hydrogen Industry

In 2023, we have attended two prominent events in the hydrogen industry in the EMEA region: the H2FC trade show in Hannover, and the hy-fcell conference and trade show in Stuttgart. These events provided invaluable opportunities for networking and exchanging insights with potential customers, suppliers, and industry experts. This year’s events were particularly significant for Impact Coatings as we showcased our latest innovations in electrolyzer coating solutions, as well as our next generation premium fuel cell coating.

Market Dynamics in the EMEA Region

In Europe, as in the rest of the world, hydrogen has been pointed out to have an important role to play in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as industry and heavy-duty transportation. At the same time, development of infrastructure and import, as well as production of renewable hydrogen, will need to be rationally planned, as stated by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).

While the global fuel cell market currently anticipates substantial growth, the EMEA region is currently experiencing a more prolonged ramp-up phase than initially anticipated. High volumes of fuels cells in EMEA are projected to become a reality by the end of this decade. Meanwhile, fast upscaling of renewable hydrogen is part of the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan focusing on the urgent transition to reduce dependency on Russian fossil fuels and fast-track the green transition of the European energy system.

The delivery of the REPowerEU objectives is expected to require an additional investment of €210 billion between now and 2027. This is seen as a down-payment on EU’s independence and security.

RePowerEU is just one part of the European Green Deal locking in 55 legislations to pave the path to a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. With new CO2 standards in EU and infrastructure in place to charge and re-fuel zero-emission vehicles, all new cars and vans registered in Europe are planned to be zero-emission by 2035.

Hydrogen technologies are key instruments to achieve decarbonization goals of Europe. Europe aims to produce and import up to 20 million tons of renewable hydrogen (10 million tons of imports and 10 million tons produced in Europe) by 2030 according to the European Hydrogen Strategy.

The progress in market growth in the EMEA region underlines the importance of Impact Coatings’ modular approach, which allows delay of capital expenditure to remain flexible in the last technology verification stages and adapt to high-volume production when the market demands it. Based on the expected steep demand growth, it is positive to observe a growing openness in the EMEA market, with various stakeholders teaming up to collectively push forward during the coming accelerated ramp-up period.

A Growing Interest in Electrolyzer Coating Solutions

At both events in Hannover and Stuttgart, Impact Coatings prominently featured our electrolyzer PVD coating solutions, reflecting the undeniable momentum in this market segment. The diversity of attendees and the presence of numerous newcomers highlighted the surging interest in electrolyzer technology. Time-to-market in this sector is now a critical factor, and reliable, high-end metal coatings are emerging as the preferred choice. This means, Impact Coatings stands at the forefront of providing coating solutions for electrolyzers in correlation with the increasing demand for clean hydrogen, as we are already in production with our electrolyzer coatings in our Swedish Coating Service Center.

The Next Steps for Fuel Cells in EMEA

In EMEA, we’ve also launched our next-generation premium fuel cell coating, tailored for heavy-duty applications. This new coating offers enhanced properties and protection for anode and cathode metal plates in LT-PEM fuel cell stacks. It’s currently available as a job coating at our Coating Service Center in China and can be qualified for our EMEA customers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our journey through the evolving hydrogen industry landscape reaffirms our belief in our coating solutions portfolio’s fit. Our modular and scalable solutions, designed to stay flexible in an upscaling hydrogen market, are positioned to lead the way. As we move forward, we’re committed to pioneering the future of clean energy and continuing our collaboration with the industry’s drivers, innovators, and partners.

The future of hydrogen is bright, and at Impact Coatings AB, we are dedicated to being at the forefront of this exciting journey. If you are in the EMEA region and have questions or needs pertaining to Impact Coatings’ hydrogen coating solutions, please don’t hesitate to contact stefan.dreger@impactcoatings.com