Switzerland

Country: Switzerland

Document type: Policy document/discussion papers

Title: Hydrogen: State of play and options for Switzerland (French language) Released November 2023

Title: The future of hydrogen in Switzerland. Possible regulation of the hydrogen network to provide a framework for its development (French language) Released: September 2023

Title: Theses on the future importance of hydrogen in Switzerland’s energy supply (French Language) Released: September 2022

Summary Points

In November 2023, the Federal Council adopted the report “Hydrogen: State of play and options for Switzerland”. The report highlights the role that hydrogen could play in Switzerland’s future energy system and addresses issues relating to the origin and transport of hydrogen as well as the framework conditions for market launch. The report is considered to lay the foundations for a national hydrogen strategy, which the Federal Council is expected to present in 2024.

Until a European hydrogen network is set up and production ramps up globally, the demand for hydrogen in Switzerland would need to be met through domestic production.  Transportation would be through new or refurbished gas pipelines and pipelines, as well as by road. It is estimated that from 2035 onwards, the transmission and distribution infrastructure in Europe would be sufficiently developed to allow imports into Switzerland.

The Federal Act on a Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energies, the Federal Climate and Innovation Act, the revision of the CO2 Act and the Renewable Energy Acceleration Project are considered to provide a range of incentives to support the creation of an internal market.

The Federal Council is expected to present the national hydrogen strategy in the second half of 2024. It would involve examining other framework conditions to support the establishment of a hydrogen market in Switzerland, such as ensuring that Switzerland is connected to the future European hydrogen grid.

 

Reviewed: January 2024