The collapse of Germany’s three-party coalition government, following Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s dismissal of a key minister, has cast uncertainty over the nation’s ambitious plans to advance its hydrogen economy.
The decision was made after Scholz stated he had no confidence in Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats Party (FDP) after his plans for the German economy clashed with opinions of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD).
Following this, three other FDP ministers, for transport, justice and education resigned, resulting in conservative opposition (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz, calling for a vote of no confidence.
Germany’s next federal election is tabled for September 2025, but with the no-confidence vote imminent, the nation could be heading to the polls far earlier than anticipated.
H2 View understands that the SPD and Greens currently stand at around 25-28% together in preliminary polling, whilst the AfD and CDU are reported to be at 17-19% and 32-34%, respectively.
The Green Party’s Robert Habeck, the Vice-Chancellor of Germany, previously criticised energy policies proposed by opposition parties, due to their focus on coal and nuclear power.
The AfD has promised to “abolish all climate laws at the national and European level, as well as stop the Green Deal.”
For German hydrogen stakeholders, 2024 appears to have been positive. The German government approved the construction of a 9,000km Hydrogen Core Network (HCN) and announced plans to meet up to 70% of its 2030 hydrogen demand through imports.
Read more:Cleared for construction: Germany’s hydrogen core network secures approval
Read more: Berlin approves import strategy to meet up to 70% of 2030 hydrogen demand
However, policies to roll out new hydrogen-capable backup generation supporting combined heat and power (CHP) plants have been stalled, with the country now facing a political deadlock until a new election occurs.
The country had planned to start tendering approximately 7.5GW of gas-fired power plants in 2025, designed to transition to hydrogen in the future. Although, with the potential for a snap election, these plans are now in question.
Read more: German hydrogen power plant tenders to be launched by early 2025
Fears have also arisen around the Canada-Germany hydrogen alliance, a $216m trade deal established by the two countries, scheduled to begin exporting hydrogen from next year.
Commenting on LinkedIn, Christopher Bruce said, “The German government is falling apart, and with it the Canada-Germany hydrogen alliance. Big questions need to be asked in terms of energy security and investment now.”
Read more:Canada pledges CAD $300m for German hydrogen trade
Last year, a German court ruling placed nearly €20bn ($21.6bn) in hydrogen funding at risk, potentially delaying plans to expand renewable and low-carbon hydrogen use in industry.
In November 2023, the court found it unconstitutional to relocate €60bn ($64.8bn) in unused Covid-19 funds to the climate and transformation fund (KTF), leading to former Finance Minister Lindner freezing all uncommitted funds from the €60bn, except for energy efficiency and building-focused renewable energy subsidies.
This is a live story and H2 View will update accordingly.
