Eleven new major business names joined the Hydrogen Council, the multinational initiative of leading energy, transport and industry companies that support the transition to zero-carbon hydrogen power generation, the council announced on Monday.
The move comes amid several major government investment and policy action announcements over the last two weeks, including one from Turkey in support of hydrogen.
The 11 new members comprise, among others, the French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM, Microsoft, American oil field services companies Baker Hughes, Swiss chemicals company Clariant and German automotive parts manufacturer MAHLE.
The council said the new memberships represent the wide spectrum of global and sector interest in hydrogen – including companies with headquarters in Europe, Asia, Australia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, as well as those serving in sectors ranging from chemicals, automotive, energy to materials manufacturing and shipping.
The Hydrogen Council has grown from 13 founding members in 2017 to 92 members in just three years.
“As policymakers, businesses and investors across the globe are working to recover from the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, hydrogen is increasingly recognized as an indispensable piece of the puzzle,” Benoit Potier, co-chair of the Hydrogen Council, was quoted as saying in the statement published by the group.
Potier urged other countries to soon join the EU, Germany and Korea, which recently announced hydrogen plans.
Turkey, for its part, has made progress with its announcement last week of its project to replace 6% of the fossil fuel in the country’s distribution system with hydrogen produced from renewable sources by the end of next year.
The Hydrogen Council is a CEO-led organization that uses its global reach to promote collaboration between governments, industry and investors, and to provide guidance on accelerating the deployment of hydrogen solutions around the world.
The coalition of 92 members comprising large multinationals, innovative SMEs and investors collectively represent total revenue of over €18.9 trillion and over 6.5 million jobs worldwide.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr