Swiss market upbeat about H2 future despite negative investment climate

Market players in Switzerland are optimistic about the future of hydrogen production in the country although the current sentiment for investments in hydrogen projects is rather negative.

These are the results of the H2 Barometer -- a survey published by the Swiss Gas Industry Association (VSG) in cooperation with consultancy firms E-Bridge Consulting and Polynomics.

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About 60% of the 116 participants in the survey, primarily energy companies, rated the current investment sentiment as rather poor or poor and two-thirds of them referred to unfavourable framework conditions in the state such as the lack of a funding framework.

Only one in three of the respondents expects hydrogen to make a high or very high contribution to the Swiss energy supply in the next five to ten years. However, three-quarters of the participants think that the hydrogen sector will make a significant contribution in the long term.

When asked about the future of hydrogen production in Switzerland, three-quarters of those surveyed said that they expect a strong or very strong increase by 2050. Expectations are more cautious when it comes to hydrogen import with four out of five respondents suggesting that only small volumes of hydrogen will be imported in the next five to ten years.

The vast majority expect a modest expansion of transport and storage capacities in the coming years and a strong increase in storage capacity as well as network-based transport in the long term.

Most of the participants expect hydrogen to be used primarily in heavy traffic in the medium to long term and play a bigger role in industrial and electricity production in the long term.