VDA President Hildegard Müller explains the import strategy for hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives:

"Germany needs hydrogen: for the transformation of industry, for the defossilization of road traffic and overall to achieve climate protection goals. According to the National Hydrogen Strategy, we are 50 to 70 percent dependent on hydrogen imports. For this reason, the hydrogen import strategy adopted today is important - and long overdue. It has now been a year since the National Hydrogen Strategy was updated, including the corresponding requirements. This makes it all the more urgent that the import strategy be put into practice as soon as possible. Companies need planning security for corresponding investments.

This includes the conclusion of long-term energy partnerships, both nationally for Germany and at EU level. Only long-term supply contracts will encourage investment in facilities and infrastructure. The sooner this happens, the sooner we can benefit from lower costs.

In addition, the requirements for import strategy and domestic production must be harmonized. While the former addresses a variety of hydrogen derivatives - including ammonia, methanol or synthetic methane - the Hydrogen Acceleration Act only provides for conversion plants for ammonia. The fact that low-carbon hydrogen types and not just green hydrogen are now also taken into account is an important step in the transformation in terms of availability and affordability, as long as green hydrogen is not available in sufficient quantities.

In the transport sector, hydrogen and its derivatives not only enable the existing fleet to be defossilised, but also drive the ramp-up of zero-emission vehicles.

Therefore, the use of hydrogen and its derivatives should not be limited to specific sectors. The automotive industry can make a significant contribution to the ramp-up of corresponding technologies by stimulating demand and thereby encouraging the construction of production plants in favorable locations."