Why hydrogen must be a building block in global energy system resilience – An outlook on the landscape for electrolysis ahead of the World Hydrogen Summit
Author: Lennart Welter, director of business development green hydrogen at thyssenkrupp nucera
In 2026, energy policy is no longer being shaped primarily by decarbonisation targets, but by a more urgent priority, resilience.
Across Europe and beyond, the conversation around energy security is shifting. Governments are under growing pressure to ensure that energy systems can withstand geopolitical shocks, support industrial competitiveness and reduce structural dependencies, but in practice, regulatory frameworks often fail to provide the clarity and certainty that project developers require. Recent crises have once again exposed the fragility of import-dependent energy systems and the economic cost of that vulnerability.
Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East reinforce the reality that energy independence should be treated as a strategic necessity, rather than a long-term ambition. Against this backdrop, investment in electrolysis becomes more urgent. By enabling the domestic production of hydrogen from renewable electricity, it offers a pathway to reduce external dependencies while strengthening a region’s industrial and energy resilience.
For Europe, energy independence presents a structural challenge. The continent remains heavily reliant on imports, and diversification alone cannot deliver long-term security. True resilience cannot be imported. It must be built.
This is where hydrogen – and more specifically, electrolysis – takes on strategic importance.
Hydrogen has long been viewed as a cornerstone of decarbonisation. But its role is becoming broader and more consequential as the hydrogen market matures. As an energy carrier that can be produced domestically using renewable electricity, hydrogen offers a pathway to strengthen energy independence while anchoring industrial value chains within Europe.
Electrolysis sits at the heart of this opportunity. By converting renewable power into hydrogen, it links two critical objectives: clean energy production and industrial value creation. In doing so, it enables Europe not only to consume energy, but to produce and store it in new ways – reducing exposure to volatile global markets, reinforcing energy system resilience and long-term security of supply, and creating industrial value, jobs and growth in its own right.
The hydrogen sector is entering a more disciplined phase. Following an initial wave of pilot projects and ambitious announcements, the focus is shifting towards delivery and commercial viability.
This shift is reflected in the data. According to the International Energy Agency, global hydrogen demand reached nearly 100 million tonnes in 2024, although low-emissions hydrogen still represents only a small share of supply.
At the same time, projections underline the scale of the opportunity ahead. The Hydrogen Council’s 2025 Global Hydrogen Compass estimates that between 9 and 14 million tonnes per annum of clean hydrogen capacity could be developed globally by the end of the decade.
As the market evolves, so too does the policy landscape. The growing focus on “low-carbon hydrogen” reflects a more pragmatic approach, but it also introduces an important distinction. Not all hydrogen pathways contribute equally to long-term resilience.
Blue hydrogen, produced from natural gas with carbon capture, still relies on fossil fuels and maintains dependency on imported resources. In some cases, it risks creating new dependencies and long-term technological lock-ins that may hinder resilience for decades.
Today, Europe faces a paradox. It has world-leading electrolysis technology and a strong industrial base, yet deployment is slowing. Projects are delayed, investment decisions are postponed and regulatory complexity is driving up costs and reducing certainty. Without clear demand signals and stable frameworks, the scaling required to bring down costs cannot, and will not, materialise.
At the same time, there are clear signs of progress. The first phase of Moeve’s Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, which is planned to be the largest green hydrogen project in Southern Europe, has reached final investment decision. As part of this development, thyssenkrupp nucera recently signed an engineering, procurement, fabrication and supply contract to deliver alkaline water electrolysis technology with a capacity of 300MW for the project.
The implications go beyond the hydrogen sector. Europe’s steel, chemicals and heavy industries depend on access to affordable, low-carbon hydrogen to remain competitive. Electrification alone will not be sufficient. Without a viable hydrogen economy, there is a real risk that value creation, and the jobs that come with it, will shift elsewhere.
Global competition is also intensifying. Other regions, including China, are moving decisively to scale production, secure supply chains and capture market share. Europe, by contrast, risks falling behind, not due to a lack of capability, but due to a lack of coordinated and fast execution and demand creation.
Policymakers must view electrolysis as a significant strategic technology for their policy goals in energy and industry, one that they are willing to support with complementary regulations and public funding.
Accelerating hydrogen demand at scale will be a central theme at this year’s World Hydrogen Summit & Exhibition 2026 in Rotterdam. Under the banner of “Climate, Energy and National Security: Unlocking Hydrogen Demand to Meet Global Priorities,” the agenda reflects the evolving priorities of the sector.
The question for 2026 is not whether hydrogen will play a role in the energy transition, but how that role will be defined.
Hydrogen can be a key pillar of a resilient energy future, enabling greater independence and sovereignty for Europe. However, its deployment is currently constrained by fragmented policy and slow market development. For this to change, Europe and its governments face a clear strategic choice: continue relying on imported energy systems or actively support the development of a more independent system.
As global leaders convene in Rotterdam this May for the summit, this decision will come into sharper focus. The real test for hydrogen is no longer its potential, but whether Europe can act fast enough to turn leadership into deployment.
The World Hydrogen Summit and Exhibition returns to Europe’s hydrogen capital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, from 19-21 May 2026. The event is organised by RX Global in partnership with the Dutch Government, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the City of Rotterdam and the Port of Rotterdam.
To find out more, and register to attend, visit https://www.world-hydrogen-summit.com/world/en-gb.html
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