Carmakers Daimler, Hyundai, BMW, Honda and Toyota are among corporate giants – comprising energy, engineering and automotive firms – backing a new global initiative to promote hydrogen technologies.
The ‘Hydrogen Council’ has been set up to promote and accelerate the adoption of hydrogen-based technologies capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
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Launched on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Summit, the new council is aiming to establish hydrogen “among the key solutions of the energy transition”.
The council brings together 13 firms with an interest in hydrogen-based technologies. The international companies currently involved are: Air Liquide, Alstom, Anglo American, BMW Group, Daimler, ENGIE, Honda, Hyundai Motor, Kawasaki, Royal Dutch Shell, The Linde Group, Total and Toyota. The Council is led by two Co-Chairs from different geographies and sectors, currently represented by Air Liquide and Toyota.
Benoît Potier, CEO, Air Liquide, referred to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and said it requires business action and government support to become a reality.
“The 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change is a significant step in the right direction but requires business action to be taken to make such a pledge a reality,” he said. “The Hydrogen Council brings together some of the world’s leading industrial, automotive and energy companies with a clear ambition to explain why hydrogen emerges among the key solutions for the energy transition, in the mobility as well as in the power, industrial and residential sectors, and therefore requires the development of new strategies at a scale to support this. But we cannot do it alone. We need governments to back hydrogen with actions of their own – for example through large-scale infrastructure investment schemes. Our call today to world leaders is to commit to hydrogen so that together we can meet our shared climate ambitions and give further traction to the emerging Hydrogen ecosystem.”
The Hydrogen Council will showcase hydrogen technology and its benefits to the world and will seek collaboration, cooperation and understanding from governments, industry and most importantly, the public.
Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman, Toyota, stressed the role of fuel cell vehicles. “At Toyota, we have always tried to play a leading role in environmental and technological advances in the automotive industry, including through the introduction of fuel cell vehicles. Moreover, we know that in addition to transportation, hydrogen has the potential to support our transition to a low carbon society across multiple industries and the entire value chain. The Hydrogen Council aims to actively encourage this transition,” he said.
