Major new initiatives to be launched at first ever Green Hydrogen Global Assembly

Barcelona, 10 May 2022 — The Green Hydrogen Organisation is excited to announce the first ever Green Hydrogen Global Assembly and Exhibition, to be held in Barcelona on 17 and 18 May 2022. Press passes are available for the assembly, where major announcements will be made and significant agreements reached to take forward green energy security in Europe and beyond.   

The assembly, co-hosted by the Spanish government, comes at a critical moment in history. Energy security is more important than ever, and the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has confirmed the world needs to act fast to stave off climate disaster.   

Groundbreaking new initiatives will be launched at the assembly, including announcing The 100 by 2030 Campaign, The Green Hydrogen Standard, Green Hydrogen Contracting for People and Planet Guidance, The Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance and COP27 Call to Action. Details of these new ambitious programs will be announced at the assembly. 

The Green Hydrogen Global Assembly is co-hosted by Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera, and Green Hydrogen Organisation Chair and former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.  

Government speakers include Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera, Oman’s Minister of Energy and Minerals Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Rumhy, Argentinian Minister of Productive Development Dr. Matias Kulfas, South African Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy Diego Mesa Puyo, Moroccan Minister of Investment Machine Jazouli, Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif, and video addresses from President of Colombia Ivan Duque, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and China's Special Envoy on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua.  

Industry speakers include Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh, Enagás CEO Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri, thyssenkrup CEO Martina Merz, Acciona Chair and CEO José Manuel Entrecanales, H2 Green Steel CEO Henrik Henriksson, Korea Zinc CEO Yun Choi, ACWA Power CEO Paddy Padmanathan, Fortescue Future Industries Founding Chair Dr. Andrew Forrest, and video addresses from Enel CEO Francesco Starace and Envision Group CEO Lei Zhang.

Speakers from international organisations include International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Director General Franceso La Camera, Energy Transitions Commission Chair Lord Adair Turner, and International Energy Agency (IEA) Renewable Energy Head Paolo Frankl.

The horrors of the Ukraine crisis have brought energy security to the top of the global agenda. Threats to cut off gas supplies and the EU’s plans to end oil imports from Russia show the inherent problem with relying on the fossil fuel industry, and now is the time for the world to make a major energy shift into green energy. Dependence on fossil fuels produced in only certain parts of the world is a poor energy strategy, and something that we already have the technology to move away from. The G7 announcement that global leaders are committed to phasing out dependency on Russian oil and gas shows the urgency of our need for green energy. 

The dire IPCC report shows how pressing an issue switching to green energy is. The report said it is “now or never” for climate change.   

Green hydrogen is the solution the world needs, both in energy security, and in shifting to cleaner, greener energies in order to save our world and our environment. 

The assembly is bringing the right people together at the right time and several initiatives will launch to take green hydrogen to the next level including the new Green Hydrogen Standard.

It is likely that the European Commission’s REPowerEU action plan and the contentious Delegated Act on additionality will both be adopted on 18 May during the assembly which will provide a crucial backdrop to the event.

The Green Hydrogen Global Assembly and Exhibition offers an important and unprecedented opportunity to discuss these issues in detail and provide global leadership on addressing the dual challenges of climate change and energy security.