Transport and Industry will increasingly rely on hydrogen

By 2030, Romania will need more than 280 thousand tonnes of hydrogen, mostly renewable, for the transport and industrial sectors, according to estimates in the draft National Hydrogen Strategy 2030, submitted for public debate by the Ministry of Energy.

Part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Romania (PNRR) endorsed by the European Commission, this Strategy together with the Action Plan for 2023-2030 outlines the main lines of development until the end of this decade, when the hydrogen production should be achieved through the electrolysis process, mostly powered by green energy.

Hydrogen is considered a strategically important energy vector in the current European context of decarbonisation.

To operate the installed electrolysis capacities by 2030 (with a capacity of 3,985 MW) an installed renewable electricity generation capacity of 7,969 MW will be required.

Although not currently used in Romania in the transport/mobility sector, hydrogen will be used as a direct fuel in public, road, rail and freight transport, as well as a feedstock for synthetic fuels in the maritime and aviation sectors.

Decarbonisation of industry will be a priority, along with the transport sector, where hydrogen demand is expected to grow only slightly between 2024 and 2027, followed by exponential growth between 2028 and 2030 through wider adoption of the technology.

The Action Plan foresees support for the construction and commissioning of hydrogen refuelling stations for road transport for 8 refuelling stations by 2027 and 39 refuelling stations by 2030. Among other things, it also foresees the establishment of renewable energy production capacities for renewable hydrogen production.

In this strategy, 5 potential hydrogen ecosystems (H2 Valleys) have been identified, which could cover the entire hydrogen value chain (production, storage, distribution, final consumption):

Ecosystem 1: București – Ploiești – Târgoviște – Pitești
Ecosystem 2: Constanța – Medgidia – Călărași – Slobozia
Ecosystem 3: Cluj – Târgu Mureș – Sighișoara – Sibiu – Sebeș
Ecosystem 4: Galați – Brăila – Tulcea
Ecosystem 5: Craiova – Slatina – Târgu Jiu

After public consultation, the Strategy will go through both the strategic environmental assessment and the transparency of decision-making procedures.