BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. Germany holds an intensive dialogue with the Azerbaijani government on the potential in the renewable energy sector, including the prospects for green hydrogen production, Ambassador of Germany to Azerbaijan Ralf Horlemann told Trend.
“There is an ongoing dialogue between the two governments. Just last Monday, I met the energy minister of Azerbaijan, Mr. Shahbazov, to talk, among other things, about green hydrogen. We understand that the Azerbaijani government is very interested to develop this sector, because they see that there is a huge market, especially in the EU,” he said.
As the ambassador pointed out, Azerbaijan has huge potential for producing green energy via solar or wind energy. Green electricity, for example, could be transported to the European market, green electricity, and the same is true for green hydrogen, he said.
“The production of hydrogen is a very energy-intensive process. So, if you want to produce hydrogen at a competitive cost, you need renewable energy sources, because they are basically for free, apart from the initial investment you have to make. With the CO2 emission reduction targets of the EU as of 2030, we need to dramatically reduce our CO2 emissions, especially in the energy intensive industries, and they can only do so by using green hydrogen in the future, instead of conventional gas,” Horlemann explained.
The ambassador noted the great interest also from the German side, including from the business sector, to engage in the field of renewable energy with Azerbaijan.
“We hope to develop and participate in new projects, proposed by the Azerbaijani side. And, wherever there are public tenders, I am very optimistic and confident that German companies with their huge expertise in the sector will take part. With the very high share of renewable energy sources in the German electricity sector, for example, we are very well-placed to participate in the Azerbaijani market in this field,” he added.
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