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Germany’s appetite for hydrogen could be a key driver for hydrogen projects in Poland. Warsaw will make money on selling hydrogen, and perhaps incubate the development of its own market, while fulfilling the obligations of the green agenda of the Weimar Triangle in exchange for the expected concessions on Russia – writes Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief at BiznesAlert.pl.
- Poland can enforce demands in the field of security of supply by making concessions in the field of climate policy, acting, among other things, within the Weimar Triangle, which recently announced the need for joint green diplomacy – writes Wojciech Jakóbik.
- An example is the Nordic-Baltic hydrogen Corridor, which is supposed to provide Germany with access to hydrogen produced in the region.
- Poland’s continued involvement in hydrogen cooperation in Germany will constitute its contribution to the Weimar Green Triangle, allowing it to expect the implementation of a policy of diversification and independence from Russia in return.
The Foreign Ministers of the Weimar Triangle reached an agreement in May on a cooperation theme called the Weimar agenda, where climate diplomacy is one of the pillars. Germanwatch, an organization promoting the idea of such cooperation, calls for the preparation of concrete action plans for climate protection at the interface of Poland, France and Germany. The documents adopted in Weimar by the foreign ministries of these countries envisage accelerating decarbonization through cooperation for innovation and investment.
Poland can enforce demands for security of supply by making concessions on climate policy, acting, among other things, within the Weimar Triangle, which recently announced the need for joint green diplomacy. In relations with France and Germany, Poles will always lag behind on the path of the energy transition, but they can contribute in the form of new commitments, expecting concessions in return in terms of security of supply. This could involve letting Polish capital into the Schwedt refinery, blocking the German dreams of importing hydrogen from Russia, France abandoning cooperation with Russian nuclear power companies, imposing specific indicators for reducing import of Russian resources as part of the REPowerEU at the EU level.
In return, Poles can show a constructive attitude towards the energy transition, and the hydrogen economy could be an interesting area in this regard. For years I have been writing about the need to create a Hydrogen Ready Map of Poland. The implementation of hydrogen projects could be the key to unlocking EU funds for financing the transformation of Poland’s gas sector. Additionally, as mentioned above, it could serve as a gateway for cooperation within the Weimar Triangle.
An example is the Nordic-Baltic hydrogen Corridor, which aims to provide Germany with access to hydrogen produced in the region. Germany wants to use mainly hydrogen produced with the help of renewable energy sources, but in practice it plans dozens of new gas power plants and allows the use of hydrogen from gas. This means that the hydrogen pipeline planned jointly by the operators of the region, including the Polish Gaz-System, can enable the sale of hydrogen of various types, the production of which will germinate, among other things, in Poland. The German government has passed a hydrogen acceleration law to speed up investment in electrolysers to produce the fuel, as well as terminals and pipelines to import it. Once Poland’s hydrogen production takes off thanks to the business rationale of selling to Germany, demand for this fuel will be able to safely grow in various sectors of the Polish economy. Without such motivation, there will be no demand for Polish hydrogen for the time being, and it will be more difficult for investors to invest in it. In turn, Poland’s continued involvement in hydrogen cooperation in Germany will be its contribution to the Weimar Green Triangle, allowing it to expect the implementation of a policy of diversification and independence from Russia in return.
