Abu Dhabi, UAE, September 2021 – The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Hydrogen Council, a global CEO coalition, have signed a Partnership Agreement to jointly advance green hydrogen across the energy system and make a significant contribution to global net zero goals.

Signed by Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, and Daryl Wilson, Executive Director of the Hydrogen Council, the Agreement marks a new milestone in the history of collaboration between the two organisations  by combining IRENA’s renewable energy expertise with the Hydrogen Council’s diverse network of 120+ member companies across the entire hydrogen value chain.

Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s Director-General said: “IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook makes it clear that we have to urgently step-up action on all fronts of the energy transition to achieve our climate and sustainable development goals. Green hydrogen is a critical pillar for decarbonising energy systems. With today’s agreement we will significantly increase knowledge exchange and international co-operation and coordinated action in this space.”

Daryl Wilson, Executive Director of the Hydrogen Council, said: “We are united by a shared vision for hydrogen as the enabler for faster and greater integration of renewable capacity, as well as greater cost-efficiency and optimisation at energy system level. The Council’s Hydrogen, Scaling Up report shows the key role of clean hydrogen produced through different low-carbon pathways in delivering deep decarbonisation while providing the necessary flexibility and resilience for our energy systems. Public-private collaboration with partners such as IRENA is critical to making this profound transformation happen. We look forward to this next chapter of our partnership and accelerating the transition to net zero together.”

With a focus on accelerating hydrogen globally, the two organisations will exchange knowledge, best practice and data particularly on cost and volumes for electrolysers, policy frameworks, market design, certification systems and technical and safety standards. The Partnership Agreement will also draw on the complementary strengths and communities of IRENA and the Hydrogen Council to achieve the aims of IRENA’s Collaborative Framework on Green Hydrogen.