Hydrogen has risen in prominence in recent years as one of the key drivers for Europe’s decarbonisation strategy. As an energy carrier, it has the transformation, transport and storage advantages that renewable electricity does not. Its portability means that hydrogen’s industrialisation in Europe is predicted to increase rapidly in the coming years, with the potential to generate up to 5.4 million jobs by 2050. 

The EU Commission is fueling this growth with a series of measures such as the Hydrogen Strategy launched in 2020 plus the more recent IPCEI Hy2Tech project announced in 2022. In the latter case, the EU has authorised funding of 5.4 billion euros for numerous individual projects in 15 member states. These projects deal with the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy by promoting research and innovation throughout the technology value chain. The IPCEI is expected to create around 20,000 direct jobs as the EU accelerates technological development, particularly in heavy industry sectors where hydrogen can replace fossil fuels. 

Germany too has been active in generating its own National Hydrogen Strategy to support innovation and investment. The Hydrogen Strategy of North Germany is one measure expected to drive development and job growth in Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The strategy is the result of cross-state cooperation in the region involving stakeholders from business, science and administration. One of the key goals is to have at least 500 megawatts of electrolysis capacity for the production of green hydrogen installed in northern Germany by 2025 increasing to at least five gigawatts by 2030.

That development should gradually enable a basic regional supply of green hydrogen, but this will not be sufficient for the mobility and industry demands expected in the future: Imports of green hydrogen and other synthetic energy carriers will remain necessary, as will a workforce needed to carry them out. The jobs required to meet the targets set out in the strategy are expected to be mostly distributed in Bremen and large parts of Lower Saxony, according to the trend:research report, with Hamburg remaining a key financial hub. North German ministries expect the main areas of employment demand to occur in the following areas:

• underground formations for storing hydrogen
• seaports and import terminals for logistics and business related to importing and distributing green hydrogen, synthetic energy carriers and hydrogen-related technology and components, 
• maritime enterprises 
• scientific research and expertise
• industry sectors with significant experience in handling hydrogen. 

Augmenting this growth, and in concurrent a bid to meet the nation’s rising energy requirements, the German government has also intensified its efforts to generate more electricity from wind off the northern coast of the country. Since its adoption in July 2022, the new WindSeeG envisages having at least 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power generation capacity installed by 2030, at least 40 gigawatts by 2035 and at least 70 gigawatts by 2045. Here, welders, engineers, researchers and electricians will be required in large quantities to carry our installation, maintenance and refurbishment tasks.

greentech.training was launched to support this structural development by providing firms with the necessary knowledge and talent able to power the transition to a cleaner future. For staffing queries, please contact us.