Europe is at the head of green hydrogen, but the United States is closing in

Europe has been moving aggressively forward in building a strong H2 economy

Over the last several months, Europe has been moving into a long string of new green hydrogen announcements, investments, and project launches.

The United States is preparing for its own H2 boom

The European Union has been pressing hard to advance technology, processes, procedures, subsidies and regulations in order to boost green hydrogen agreements, production, distribution and use.  It is simultaneously seeking to decarbonize as it seeks improved energy security by shrinking its dependence on natural gas imports, particularly from Russia.

Though many countries are taking part in these efforts, Germany is leading the way by making the most domestic and international deals to establish its H2 economy.  That said, Spain, Scotland, Belgium, and many other European countries have also been taking on a growing number of their own projects in this same effort.

The United States is also pursuing green hydrogen, but lags behind

There are many reasons that the US isn’t nearly as far ahead in H2 as the European Union. That said, the US has been laying substantial groundwork for sudden and rapid growth in this category.  While it is indeed currently behind the EU, the US is expected to see a boom very soon, which will allow it to rapidly catch up and then pass the EU in its clean H2 strategy.

This trend isn’t really anything new.  It aligns with the way many other renewable energy technologies have seen their starts in the EU and the US.

Though there are many reasons to explain this, much of it has to do with the way that policies are put into place in the various areas.  While the EU often pivots more quickly in making core moves, in order to start taking action early and growing more gradually, the US often needs notably more time to put policies into place, so preparations are made and then stalled until the policies are established to allow action to happen. From there, action and growth can occur suddenly and rapidly.

The US isn’t there yet, but it could be

The US is starting to adopt similar green hydrogen policies to those in the EU, though finalized regulations for certification have yet to be put into place.