Hamburg – As Vladimir Putin continues to weaponize energy in his illegal war on Ukraine, Canada is working with European allies to displace imports of Russian oil and gas and fight climate change with clean Canadian hydrogen. Canada can be a world-leading producer and exporter of clean hydrogen and associated technologies, and the federal government is helping to make that happen.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Robert Habeck, German Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, strengthened their commitment to implement a transatlantic hydrogen corridor by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a first-of-its-kind bilateral program. This program will accelerate commercial-scale hydrogen trade between Canada and Germany, secure early access for clean Canadian hydrogen producers in the German market and strengthen our two countries’ efforts to fight climate change and enhance energy security. The Minister and Vice-Chancellor were joined by Canada’s Ambassador to Germany John Horgan, Indigenous leaders and senior representatives from the Canadian and Germany energy sectors for the signing of this historic arrangement.
With jurisdictions around the world rapidly advancing hydrogen projects to compete in the European market, today’s announcement will help position Canada as a priority market for Germany to source product, enable Canadian producers to gain first-mover advantage and ensure Canada remains a global leader in the race to supply the world with clean hydrogen.
Under this Memorandum of Understanding, Canada and Germany will work to establish a dedicated Bilateral Window through Germany’s H2Global Foundation that will support commercial transactions between Canada’s hydrogen producers and Germany’s industrial manufacturing and energy distribution sectors. The Canada-Germany Bilateral Window will be administered by the H2Global Foundation and will conduct coordinated supply and demand side auctions that will connect Canadian hydrogen exporters with German buyers to facilitate the completion of commercially binding contracts for the sale of clean Canadian hydrogen and its derivatives within the established timelines.
This MOU delivers on the ambitious commitments made under the Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance signed by the two leaders in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, in August 2022. This alliance includes the shared objectives of catalyzing investments in hydrogen products, supporting the development of secure hydrogen supply chains, establishing a Canada–Germany supply corridor.
Prior to today’s announcement, Canada has made significant efforts to support the production and export of clean hydrogen. These efforts include the introduction of bold policy initiatives to enable the development of a clean hydrogen export sector in Canada, including the Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit and the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit; establishing the Canada Growth Fund; and supporting leading hydrogen exporters in Canada with a combined $297 million in export development loans.
The MOU reaffirms Canada’s position as a provider of choice to like-minded global allies. It will help secure early market access for competitively priced clean energy products by Canadian industry and ensure good jobs, clean economic growth and emission reductions at home while strengthening energy security abroad.
“Canada and Germany have a long-standing friendship and determination to work together to address climate change, accelerate the global energy transition and strengthen international energy security. Canada has over 100 years of experience in hydrogen innovation and is a global leader in hydrogen fuel cell technology and renewable energy. Today’s announcement is a testament to Canada’s position as a global supplier of choice for clean energy and will enable the creation of sustainable jobs, clean economic growth, emission reductions and energy security at home and abroad.” – Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
“We welcome the progress made in Canada in the development of several renewable hydrogen and ammonia projects. Although some challenges remain, we believe that a joint H2 Global Financing Window can play an important role in closing the remaining price gap. This will support the development of H2 production capacity with the aim of increasing the availability of hydrogen.” – Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection