FRANKFURT, Nov. 24 (Reuters) – Deutsche Boerse’s electricity and gas exchange EEX plans to launch a hydrogen price index next year to facilitate trade in this product which is expected to play a role important in the transition to a green economy, one of the board members of the exchange said.
The index, details of which will be released before the end of the year, aims to publish a hydrogen price that will reflect prices as they emerge from the over-the-counter market and from bilateral trade in agreements. import and export.
It would be the first publicly traded index following hydrogen as a commodity.
“Europe has the potential to be an important pillar in global pricing,” Tobias Paulun, EEX Strategy Director, told Reuters Events Hydrogen Economy Europe.
“With our customers, we see hydrogen as a long-term opportunity,†he said, adding that the index would be launched in the next few months, without being more specific.
The European Union has announced a strategy to reach 40 gigawatts of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and aims to become a world leader in implementing zero carbon fuel for industrial use to protect the climate.
EEX will rely on a number of contributors to provide euro quotes for green hydrogen and certify quality through guarantees of origin, a tool already in use in renewable energy, Paulun said.
Produced by electrolysis from renewable energies, green hydrogen has aroused the interest of utilities and oil majors, their customers and associated service companies.
They strive to reduce production costs, create legal and financial frameworks for the construction and reallocation of infrastructure, and create partnerships for demand and import.
Paulun said an over-the-counter and bilateral market would evolve over the next two years in European import sites and local industry clusters, which would help develop a common standard, which would ultimately be tradable on the stock exchange.
The EEX would monitor the process closely.
“Reducing unit costs while increasing innovation will be vital to create long-term trading platforms,†said Paulun.
Andreas Schwenzer of consultancy firm Horvath said a stock market contract should generate interest.
“Trading through standardized contracts instead of individual agreements for each transaction is much more efficient,†he said.
(The full interview with Tobias Paulun will be broadcast during the Reuters Events Hydrogen Economy Europe online conference on December 2-3)
(Reporting by Vera Eckert; editing by Barbara Lewis)