About sixty leaders of major energy companies as well as start-ups involved in the development of hydrogen energy participated in the seventeenth Energy Forum in Nice on 5 and 6 December 2019 organised by CIFE and the Club de Nice.
The discussions focused on the accelerated progress made in the use of hydrogen in energy transition strategies that focus on hydrogen as a low-carbon energy source, which is now booming in various countries.
Whether it is mobility in public transport - taxis, buses, trains, ships - or the use of hydrogen in buildings for heating and air-conditioning, in all these major pollution-generating sectors, this gas is particularly suited to today's ecological requirements.
Now that the usage technologies and the security concerns have been perfectly mastered, hydrogen is emerging as one of the major components of the clean energy mix that is gradually being put in place to ensure the transition imposed by climate change that governments must promote.
The technical aspects, ecological advantages, legal frameworks and financing methods were reviewed by the best experts and, in particular, Dominique Ristori, the outgoing Director General for Energy at the European Commission, Maurice Méda, Member of the Conseil Supérieur de l'Énergie (French Higher Energy Council), Philippe Boucly, President of the Association Française pour l'Hydrogène et la Pile à Combustible (French Association for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells).
Territorial decision-makers from local municipalities and other regions, public works and construction, and operators in the industrial energy sector were thus able to assess the performance and potential of this new sector to solve the technical, financial, ecological and political problems of the communities for which they are responsible.
Claude NIGOUL
The eighteenth Forum will provide an opportunity next year to take stock of the various achievements under way at both local and European levels and the impact of the legal and financial resources implemented.