Hydrogen economy can get a boost with regulatory support
Budapest, 23/01/2025: On 23-24 January, MOL Campus hosted the Hydrogen Open 2025 conference organized by the Hungarian Hydrogen Technology Association for the second time. The event brought together key players from the European Union's hydrogen industry – EU and national policy makers, hydrogen technology providers, innovation-driven companies – to discuss current regulatory and technological issues of the hydrogen economy. Industry players agreed that boosting the hydrogen economy can simultaneously support European competitiveness and the green transition. Although MOL Group’s Százhalombatta electrolysis unit is an important step forward, boosting the hydrogen economy requires support from decision-makers and a simplified, flexible, and an encouraging regulatory environment.
Hydrogen can be a significant energy carrier of the future and can play a key role in the green transition and European competitiveness. At the conference, industry players agreed that boosting the hydrogen economy can support both causes at the same time. In his keynote speech, Zoltán Áldott, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MOL, drew attention to the challenges the industry faces.
“Both the industrial and mobility sectors agree that boosting the hydrogen economy can support the green transition and European competitiveness at the same time. It is a key goal to be successful in both areas. MOL Group is doing its job: we inaugurated our first green hydrogen plant in Százhalombatta last April, we are preparing the construction of electrolysis units in Rijeka and Bratislava, and we are looking for cooperation opportunities with both industrial players and decision-makers. However, the road ahead is not yet paved: the technology is still in at an early stage, and economic, geopolitical and regulatory challenges further complicate investments related to the green transition. The time has come to face reality: to achieve a breakthrough, we need industry incentives, flexibility and simplified regulation that takes into account regional specificities, rather than command economy” said Zoltán Áldott, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MOL, who also emphasized that in addition to green hydrogen, all forms of low carbon hydrogen must be supported.
MOL Group updated its long-term SHAPE TOMORROW strategy last March, in which it committed to a smart energy transition. According to the company, fossil fuels can only be replaced gradually, as competitiveness and security of supply considerations must be taken into account in addition to sustainability goals. Hydrogen also plays a prominent role in MOL's strategy: in April 2024, it handed over the largest electrolysis plant in Central and Eastern Europe to date, with a capacity of 10 megawatts, and is also continuously investigating the use of green hydrogen for transportation purposes. The Százhalombatta facility produces 1,600 tons of clean, carbon-neutral green hydrogen annually, reducing the Danube Refinery's emissions by 25,000 tons per year.
