Hydrogen is an innovative solution to help achieve carbon neutrality and other climate targets. In 2019 and 2020 the key players from across the UNECE region came up with decarbonization strategies in which hydrogen is to play a pivotal role. Ukraine is deeply interested in developing infrastructure for the production and use of hydrogen. In response to a request from the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, UNECE implemented a project “Improving capacity of the Government of Ukraine to develop infrastructure for production and use of hydrogen to support green post-covid-19 recovery.” The outcomes of this project were discussed at the Capacity-building workshop on development of hydrogen infrastructure held in Kyiv on 25 February.
This cooperation resulted in the development of a draft Roadmap for production and use of hydrogen in Ukraine, a draft Roadmap for the use of hydrogen in Ukraine in road transport, and a draft scoping report under the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) procedure of the Roadmap in line with the UNECE Protocol on SEA. The draft Roadmap for production and use of hydrogen in Ukraine analyses best international practices for the use of hydrogen, potential for the use of hydrogen technologies in Ukraine, hydrogen production methods and their cost-effectiveness, existing and required infrastructure for hydrogen storage and transportation for domestic use and export opportunities, and potential for producing renewable hydrogen domestically. It presents three phases for implementation of the Roadmap in 2021-2029 with specific proposed actions. Special consideration in the project was given to the use of hydrogen in road transport, which is an integral part of the overall Roadmap.
An important part of the project is assessing potential environmental implications of the hydrogen development in the country. The draft SEA scoping report includes an environmental and health baseline, identification of key policies, plans and programmes of relevance to the draft Roadmap and the SEA process, and identification of the environmental issues including health and potential effects to be considered in the SEA.
The workshop participants included representatives of Ministries and other Government bodies, the business community, academic institutions, NGOs, and international organizations. They came to the conclusion that Ukraine would benefit significantly from developing hydrogen infrastructure. The next step would be developing of a Concept/Strategy on Hydrogen as a national strategic document, for which the draft Roadmap would serve as a solid basis.
Project and workshop materials will be posted at: https://unece.org/sustainable-energyregional-advisory-services/improving-capacity-government-ukraine-develop.