Seven New Members Join The Hydrogen Council to Advance the Global Clean Energy Transition

• New members represent companies from across the hydrogen value chain
• First South American member to join The Hydrogen Council
• Rapid growth in Council membership highlights urgency for collective global action

Brussels, June 13, 2022 – The Hydrogen Council, the global CEO-led organisation, announced today the addition of seven new members:  Adani Group, Alfa Laval, Bloom Energy, CK Infrastructure, Ecopetrol, Gasunie and InterContinental Energy.  The Council’s members embrace a shared vision for hydrogen to advance the global clean energy transition for a more sustainable and resilient energy future.

Launched by 13 founding members in 2017, in just five years the Hydrogen Council has grown to 141 members from over 20 countries around the world, representing a wide range of sectors along the entire hydrogen value chain.

This fast acceleration in membership mirrors the unprecedented momentum being witnessed for clean hydrogen. There is no climate solution without hydrogen; it is the missing piece of the clean energy puzzle – a critical catalyst for our clean energy transition.

The Hydrogen Council’s latest members include:

• Two new steering members – Colombia’s Ecopetrol, one of the leading integrated energy groups in the Americas, and InterContinental Energy, leading dedicated green fuels company.
• Five new supporting members – Indian multinational conglomerate Adani Group; Sweden’s Alfa Laval, a leading global supplier of products and solutions for heat transfer, separation and fluid handling; California-based clean energy technology company Bloom Energy; global infrastructure company CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited;and Dutch energy infrastructure firm Gasunie.

Alfa Laval is the Hydrogen Council’s first Swedish member and Ecopetrol the first South American member.

The ethos of these six new members aligns with the Hydrogen Council’s vision for hydrogen to foster the clean energy transition for a better, more sustainable, and more resilient energy future.

Welcoming the new members and their contributions to the Hydrogen Council’s vision, Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of Cummins Inc., and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council, said: “The Hydrogen Council’s strength comes from the engagement of our diverse leaders. Diversity of region, application, technology, language and culture brings multi-dimensional perspectives to a sustainable energy transition. At the conclusion of our recent Council meeting, we agreed on the importance of addressing climate change collaboratively and ahead of individual interests, which we believe will benefit all of our stakeholders.”

Yoshinori Kanehana, Chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council, added: “Our latest members span the globe with their activity illustrating the critical role that hydrogen will play in the flow of decarbonised energy around the world. Hydrogen is already opening up new trading relationships and opportunities for development. The Council has a strong interest in the realisation of the international sustainable development goals in both exporting and importing partners in this new world of trade.”

What does joining the Hydrogen Council mean to these seven new members?

Felipe Bayón, CEO of Ecopetrol, commented: “Joining the Hydrogen Council means a great opportunity for Ecopetrol to accelerate our low-carbon hydrogen plan, as part of our Strategy 2040 ‘Energy that transforms’, and contribute to Colombia’s Hydrogen Roadmap.

“We believe that joint efforts, among the members of the Council, will trigger changes in investment patterns, technologies, and behaviours, in pursue of the ambition for hydrogen to foster the clean energy transition for a better, more sustainable, and more resilient energy future.”

Alicia Eastman, President of InterContinental Energy, commented: “InterContinental Energy joined the Hydrogen Council because we believe clean hydrogen and derivative energy products like clean ammonia are key to decarbonising the most difficult-to-abate sectors. In order to deploy these solutions at scale quickly, the world’s largest suppliers, logistics, infrastructure, investment, and consumer companies need to work together: designing and advocating for common certification and regulatory standards, dovetailing roadmaps and creating an optimised ecosystem to jointly tackle greenhouse gases.”

Vneet Jain, Managing Director and CEO of Adani Green Energy, commented: “Hydrogen is the fuel of the future and key to India’s energy security and to the decarbonisation of its economy. Adani Group is one of the largest renewable energy producers in the world and we believe we are uniquely positioned to lead India’s and the world’s transition to the hydrogen economy.

“Hydrogen Council, as a leading industry body, can play an enabling role in development of the Hydrogen ecosystems across the value chain.”

Tom Erixon, President & CEO of Alfa Laval, commented: “We see the hydrogen economy as an inevitable enabler of a Net Zero 2050 and recognise the importance of accelerating the deployment, scaling and commercialisation of the technologies to make this happen. Working together with the leading stakeholders in the industry and the members of the Hydrogen Council, we are developing solutions that are crucial for taking hydrogen technologies into the commercialisation stage.”

KR Sridhar, founder, Chairman and CEO of Bloom Energy, commented: “If we don’t take immediate action to substantially reduce emissions, the planet is on track for disastrous temperature increases and climate change. By decarbonising with hydrogen, we can successfully impede and even reverse the adverse effects of the climate crisis.

“I had a mission when I founded Bloom in 2001 to make clean, reliable and affordable energy available for all. Our founding roots are in hydrogen technology, and the flexibility of our solid oxide platform enables organisations, large and small, to both efficiently produce and consume this clean fuel. And the energy industry has only just scratched the surface in terms of projects and applications. In joining the Hydrogen Council, we look forward to building a clean, energy abundant future together.”

Andrew Hunter, Deputy Managing Director of CK Infrastructure (CKI), commented: “CKI is looking forward to working with all members of the Hydrogen Council who are at the forefront of hydrogen use to help accelerate the transition to a carbon neutral world.”

Han Fennema, CEO of Gasunie, commented: “Gasunie strongly believes in the role of hydrogen in a sustainable energy system. That’s why we have joined the Hydrogen Council. In the coming years, we will be developing the national hydrogen network in The Netherlands. We are also working on hydrogen infrastructure development in Germany. This way, we will enable industries all across the Netherlands and Germany to become more sustainable.”

About The Hydrogen Council

The Hydrogen Council is a global CEO-led initiative that brings together leading companies with a united vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen to foster the clean energy transition. The Council believes that hydrogen has a key role to play in reaching our global decarbonisation goals by helping to diversify energy sources worldwide, foster business and technological innovation as drivers for long-term economic growth, and decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors.

Using its global reach to promote collaboration between governments, industry and investors, the Council provides guidance on accelerating the deployment of hydrogen solutions around the world. It also acts as a business marketplace, bringing together a diverse group of 140+ companies based in 20+ countries across the entire hydrogen value chain, including large multinationals, innovative SMEs, and investors.

The Hydrogen Council also serves as a resource for safety standards and an interlocutor for the investment community, while identifying opportunities for regulatory advocacy in key geographies.

To find out more visit www.hydrogencouncil.com and follow us on Twitter @HydrogenCouncil and LinkedIn. 

For questions, please contact:
Joanna Sampson, Communications Manager, Hydrogen Council.
joanna.sampson@hydrogencouncil.com

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Background on the Hydrogen Council’s new members

Steering Members

Ecopetrol: Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the leading integrated energy groups in the Americas, with presence in over nine countries, including the U.S. Its operations in the hydrocarbons value chain comprise the upstream, midstream, downstream and gas distribution segments. In 2021, Ecopetrol acquired a majority stake in Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. (ISA), the leading energy transmission company in Latin America that also participates in the management of real-time systems and toll roads. As part of its technology, environmental, social and governance agenda (TESG), the company is leading initiatives in decarbonization, renewables, water management, hydrogen, natural climate solutions and innovation.

InterContinental Energy: InterContinental Energy is one of the world’s largest green fuels companies with four integrated green hydrogen and green ammonia projects totalling upstream wind and solar of 200GW in Western Australia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. ICE focuses on the triple bottom line, which includes financial viability as well as sustainable positive outcomes for the environment and society. 

Supporting Members

Adani Group: Adani Group, headquartered in Ahmedabad, is India’s fastest-growing portfolio of diversified businesses with presence in Transportation and Logistics (seaports, airports, logistics, shipping, road and rail), Resources, Power Generation and Distribution, Renewable Energy, Gas Infrastructure, Agribusiness (commodities, edible oil, food products, cold storage and grain silos), Real Estate, Cement, and Defence and Aerospace.

Adani Group owes its success and leadership position to its core purpose of “Nation Building” – a guiding principle for enabling India’s economic growth which is essential to improving the quality of life of its people. The Group is committed to protecting the environment and improving communities through its CSR programs based on the principles of sustainability, diversity and shared values.

Alfa Laval: Alfa Laval is a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling, and is active in the areas of energy, marine, and food & water, offering its expertise, products, and service to a wide range of industries in some 100 countries. The company is committed to optimising processes, creating responsible growth, and driving progress to support customers in achieving their business goals and sustainability targets.

Alfa Laval’s innovative technologies are dedicated to purifying, refining, and reusing materials, promoting more responsible use of natural resources. They contribute to improved energy efficiency and heat recovery, better water treatment, and reduced emissions. Thereby, Alfa Laval is not only accelerating success for its customers, but also for people and the planet. Making the world better, every day.

Bloom Energy: Bloom Energy empowers businesses and communities to responsibly take charge of their energy. The company’s leading solid oxide platform for distributed generation of electricity and hydrogen is changing the future of energy. Fortune 100 companies around the world turn to Bloom Energy as a trusted partner to deliver lower carbon energy today and a net-zero future.

CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited: CK Infrastructure (CKI) is a global infrastructure company that has diversified investments in energy, transportation, water, waste and other infrastructure related businesses. Through Northern Gas Networks (NGN) in the UK and Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), CKI are a major player in natural gas and a pioneer in hydrogen.

NGN is leading the development of hydrogen deployment in the UK’s existing gas network.  As well as supplying a 20% hydrogen blend to homes in the village of Winlaton near Gateshead as part of its HyDeploy demonstration project, NGN is progressing proposals to develop the UK’s first hydrogen village following approvals from UK Government and Great Britain’s energy regulator, Ofgem. The plans would see NGN bring clean burning hydrogen to around 2,000 homes and businesses in the North East of England with green hydrogen produced locally from renewable sources in Teesside.

In Australia, we are developing various projects across the country to demonstrate the approach to policy makers and help drive down costs. In May 2021, AGIG’s Hydrogen Park South Australia project started producing green hydrogen through a 1.45MW electrolyser and blending with natural gas to supply +700 homes.

Gasunie: Gasunie is a European energy-infrastructure company. Gasunie’s network is one of the largest high-pressure pipeline networks in Europe, comprising over 17,000km of pipeline in the Netherlands and northern Germany.

Gasunie provides natural and green gas transport services through its subsidiaries, Gasunie Transport Services B.V. (GTS) in the Netherlands and Gasunie Deutschland in Germany. With its cross-border gas infrastructure and services, Gasunie facilitates TTF, which has become the leading European gas trading point. Gasunie also provides other gas infrastructure services, including gas storage and LNG.

Gasunie wants to help accelerate the transition to a CO2-neutral energy supply and believes that gas-related innovations, for instance in the form of renewable gases such as hydrogen and green gas, can make an important contribution. Both existing and new gas infrastructure play a key role here. Gasunie also plays an active part in the development of other energy infrastructure to support the energy transition.