The Sustainable Twin-Goals of the Global European Hydrogen Facility
Energy Security for the North and Economic Opportunity for the South
| Date | June 21, 2022 |
| Time | 17:35 to 18:20 CET |
| Location | Brussels Expo (Palais 7 and 11), Avenue De Miramar / Miramarlaan, B-1020 Brussels or virtually for EDD registered participants |
| Register through | https://eudevdays.eu/community/login |
To reach climate neutrality by 2050, the world’s economies must reduce their climate emissions fast. For industries and transport sectors that cannot directly electrify, renewable hydrogen and Power-to-X must play a crucial role. This is reflected in the recently announced ambitious plans by the EU Commission to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen in the EU by 2030 and to import 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen from partner countries such as those in North Africa. To reach this import goal, RePowerEU also announced a Global European Hydrogen Facility to rapidly scale up the deployment of renewable hydrogen.
This event is part of the European Development Days (EDD) 2022, which focus on a ‘Global Gateway: building sustainable partnerships for a connected world’. It will be conducted as a lab debate in which speakers will discuss the export of renewable hydrogen/PtX products from North Africa to the EU, the need for the Global European Hydrogen Facility to support this trade, and the potential interaction with existing instruments (such as H2Global).
This session intends to achieve the following:
- An understanding of North African and European needs concerning the trade of renewable hydrogen/PtX
- Clarity on the role of the Global European Hydrogen Facility, as well as its potential interplay with existing instruments (H2Global)
- A discussion on how development institutions (like GIZ) can support this
In addition, the panelists will discuss crucial questions such as:
- How does the EU plan to obtain renewable hydrogen/PtX?
- What would be the benefits of this trade for North African states and the EU?
- What is the Global European Hydrogen Facility and H2Global? Why are they important?
There will be opportunities for audience participation.
Our speakers and moderator
Tudor Constantinescu
Principal Advisor to the Director General for Energy, DG ENER, European Commission
Dr. Tudor Constantinescu is Principal Adviser to the Director General for Energy in the European Commission since March 2011. He is an engineer and economist by education. Before joining the Commission, he set up as Executive Director the Buildings Performance Institute Europe. He was the president of the Romanian Agency for Energy Conservation and for the period 2008-2009 he ensured the presidency of the EnR network of European Energy Agencies. Between 1996-2007, he coordinated the energy efficiency and related environmental activities of the Energy Charter Secretariat in Brussels.
Belhassen Chiboub
Director-General of Electricity and the Energy Transition, Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy of Tunisia
Belhassen Chiboub is the Director-General of Electricity and the Energy Transition at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy of Tunisia. From 2011 to 2018, he was the Director-General of the research company ELMED Etudes SARL. Mr. Chiboub also has previous experience in Tunisia’s Ministry of Industry and Energy as the Director of Private Power Generation. Prior to this experience, he worked as the Head of the Equipment Programme Division in the Study and Planning Directorate at the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas.
Kirsten Westphal
Executive Director, H2Global Foundation
Dr. Kirsten Westphal is Executive Director at H2Global Stiftung and leads the independent Analysis & Research Division. Between 2008-2021, she worked at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. Among other tasks, she headed the project “Geopolitics of Energy Transformation – Hydrogen” funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, where she now serves as an external advisor. Dr. Westphal is the Deputy Head of the Advisory Council for the Hydrogen Roadmap of the State of Baden-Württemberg. She also has several memberships, including in the German National Hydrogen Council, the Steering Committee of the German-Russian Raw Materials Forum, and the Advisory Boards of the Royal Institute Elcano in Madrid, 50Hertz, and the Regional Centre for Energy Policy Research (REKK) Foundation in Budapest.
Enja Sæthren
Head of Government Affairs and Support Mechanisms, Scatec
Enja Sæthren is the Head of Government Affairs and Support Mechanisms in Scatec, a Norwegian renewable energy company at the forefront of green hydrogen development in emerging markets. Enja has a background from humanitarian response and international development from West-Africa to Nepal, having held positions in UN WFP, The Food Security Cluster, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Europe and Plan International. She holds a master degree in International Public Management from Sciences Po Paris, and is a previous research fellow in EU trade relations at the Princeton University.
Frank Mischler (Moderator)
Policy & European Cooperation, PtX Hub
Frank Mischler joined the Power-to-X Hub Brussels in March 2022 and leads the work on policy and cooperation with the European Union. This includes supporting the external dimension of the European hydrogen strategy, especially dialogues between the EU and the G20 and the EU´s cooperation with developing and emerging countries. Before joining the PtX Hub, Frank supported the EU´s climate diplomacy efforts with industrialised countries. Frank is a former journalist and an experienced moderator and facilitator.
