Strategic partnership explores potential synergies for a new energy world

 

Brussels/Pforzheim, March 5, 2019 – The smarter E Europe, the continent’s largest energy industry platform, has signed a cooperation agreement with the associations Eurogas and Hydrogen Europe. Their objective is to join forces in achieving a decarbonised Europe and work together towards a sustainable energy future. The future role of Power-To-X and how hydrogen, together with solar and wind energy, can pave the way towards successful sector coupling will be among the topics discussed at The smarter E Europe and its individual exhibitions, which are taking place in Munich on May 15–17, 2019.

 

Europe’s transition to a decarbonised energy world is underway. All 28 EU Member States have signed the COP21 Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5° Celsius. This target will fundamentally change the way in which energy is generated, stored, distributed and consumed in the EU. Attaining this goal will require power generation to become virtually carbon neutral and will also necessitate greater energy efficiency and the widespread decarbonisation of transport systems, buildings and industry.

 

Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in this transformation, particularly when it comes to effective sector coupling. This is highlighted by the study “Hydrogen Roadmap Europe: A sustainable pathway for the European Energy Transition.” For example, renewable energy can be converted into hydrogen so that it can be stored seasonally or for long periods. Using hydrogen is also a promising way of decarbonising areas of the energy, mobility, building and industrial sectors. It is an attractive alternative for trucks, buses, ships, trains and commercial vehicles, where batteries still have their disadvantages due to lower energy densities. Gas also has the potential to play an increasingly significant part in the decarbonisation and creation of a modern energy industry, especially in the context of the latest Power-To-Gas technologies. The new cooperation will therefore give exhibitors and visitors numerous opportunities to explore and collaboratively develop new processes and business models.

 

James Watson, Secretary General of Eurogas, highlights the benefits of this new cooperation: “We are delighted to sign this partnership, which underlines the gas industries commitment to contributing to a carbon neutral future for Europe. These are exciting times in the gas sector and the role that we can play in powering the European economy through strong innovation is starting to be understood. With innovations like power to gas, we can help the European Union reach its ambitious decarbonisation targets in a cost effective and publicly acceptable way. This partnership showcases the growing awareness that gas is a part of the solution to our climate challenge. We are looking forward to working together with The smarter E Europe and Hydrogen Europe on this initiative!”

 

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Secretary General of Hydrogen Europe, shares his excitement about the partnership: “As Hydrogen Europe, we are happy to being able to cooperate together with Eurogas in the framework of the The Smarter E Europe event. The dream to produce endlessly energy from the sun and to transport it cheaply as hydrogen via the existing gas grids can become a reality. Solar/Gas could be one of the couples of the future. The Power-to-Gas technology is mature, let’s start now!”

 

Markus Elsässer, CEO of Solar Promotion GmbH, is delighted about the collaboration: “Power-to-X and hydrogen are strategically important to the future of our renewable energy supply. It is therefore crucial that we keep opening up to other energy industry players and find a shared platform as part of The smarter E Europe. So we are very happy to be joining forces with these two strong European partners.”

 

As part of the new cooperation with Eurogas and Hydrogen Europe, an all-day conference event dedicated to Power-To-X will take place at the ICM – Internationales Congress Center München on Thursday, May 16 in parallel to ees Europe, the continent’s largest and most international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems. The event is aimed at energy supply companies, power plant operators, grid operators, manufacturers and suppliers of equipment and components for Power-To-X systems, investors and politicians. The associations Eurogas and Hydrogen Europe will be presenting their activities alongside some of their member companies in hall C2 at ees Europe.

 

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The smarter E is the innovation hub for events and topics that drive the new energy world. Digitalization and decentralization are changing the face of the energy world for good, and the steady rise in electricity from volatile and renewable sources requires new concepts and solutions for generating, storing, distributing and using energy efficiently. Under the motto The Innovation Hub for New Energy Solutions, The smarter E Europe unites four exhibitions and conferences that take an in-depth look at these topics. In doing so, it is now Europe’s largest energy industry platform.