Last Tuesday, Canada and Germany signed an agreement under which Canada will start exporting wind-generated hydrogen to Germany by 2025. The agreement, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau coined the "Canada-Germany hydrogen alliance," will help Germany decrease its reliance on fossil fuels—a step that has become only more urgent as Russia weaponizes energy exports in its war in Ukraine. It will also help Canada reach its goal of becoming a major producer and supplier of hydrogen (CBC, Bloomberg). 

Hydrogen is expected to play a major role in Germany’s effort to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, including shipping and aviation, and to reach its 2045 climate neutrality target (CBC, Bloomberg). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz predicts that Germany will need 90 to 110 terawatt hours of hydrogen in 2030 (CBC). In addition to helping Germany reach its climate targets, the partnership will help Canada secure funding for the infrastructure necessary for renewable technologies and to develop its local economies (Bloomberg, CISION). 

The agreement was signed in Stephenville, Newfoundland, a small port town where two large-scale wind farms for converting wind energy to hydrogen are planned to be constructed (Bloomberg). While the nations committed to “enabling investment in hydrogen projects through policy harmonization” and developing “secure hydrogen supply chains,” they have yet to announce specific plans for how the two countries will collaborate (CISION).