Publication of an Important Document for Serbia Released
The Serbian Chamber of Commerce hired a consortium to create the basic concept in 2022. Now the process is finished and the document has been presented to the public.
The development of the Hydrogen Strategy of the Republic of Serbia is a multidisciplinary process and required the contribution of the entire professional public and the scientific community.
This is one of the conclusions of the presentation of the Draft Hydrogen Strategy of the Republic of Serbia at the Faculty of Engineering in Belgrade, held in the presence of representatives of interested economies, the Ministry of Mining and Energy, the Energy Agency, the German Organisation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the academic and educational community.
This represents an important document for Serbia that opens a dialogue on the possibilities of development and application of hydrogen technologies in the power system, industry, transport, education system and other areas of economic and social life.
A special strategy with much riding on it
At the end of 2021, the Ministry of Mining and Energy entrusted the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCS) with the task of coordinating the development of a special strategy for the use of hydrogen in energy and industry, as an integral part of the Energy Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia until 2040, with projections until 2050.
To develop the basic concept of the Hydrogen Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia engaged a consortium gathered around the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Belgrade, with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German-Serbian Initiative for Sustainable Growth and Employment, and within the project “Manufacturing Draft hydrogen strategy of the Republic of Serbia and organisation of round tables and promotion”.
Mihailo Vesović, Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalisation at CCS, especially thanked the Ministry of Mining and Energy, which recognised the topic of hydrogen as extremely important and entrusted the work to the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia.
He referred to the current energy crisis and, in this context, emphasised the importance of the development and application of renewable energy sources, especially from the aspect of “green” hydrogen production, which is the main goal of this project. He also emphasised that this project confirmed the long-term successful cooperation and partnership with the German Organisation for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Vladimir Popović, emphasised the importance of multidisciplinarity in this topic, which is why, in addition to the directly engaged institutions and individuals, the entire professional and scientific community will be involved during the development of this strategic document.
High importance for the country
Maja Matija Ristić, acting secretary in the Ministry of Mining and Energy, emphasised the importance of the document in the context of the completion of the National Energy Strategy and the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate, as well as the need to harmonise the basic concept of the Hydrogen Strategy with these two strategic documents.
She emphasised the importance of further increasing the share of renewable energy sources, bearing in mind the European Green Plan and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans. Radivoje Mitrović, coordinator of the team for creating the basic concept of the Draft Hydrogen Strategy, gave a brief overview of the latest research in technology, production processes, the need for the development of professional staff in higher education and science. He referred to the importance of hydrogen and its development and application in the world and the EU.
At the same time, he opened the issue of potential and resources for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen in industry, energy, agriculture, transport and other activities in Serbia. He also referred to potential risks in terms of the current economic profitability of hydrogen, such as production, safety aspects, financial and other challenges.
In the discussion that followed, the experts who worked on the document took part, who spoke about the potential in energy, the experience of the European Union in the use of hydrogen in fuel cells for driving buses, predictions that the share of hydrogen in energy could increase up to 25 percent until 2060, as well as the interest of the economy and the willingness to be involved in more concrete pilot projects, indicating that, in addition to investment costs, special attention should be paid to later operational costs (OPEX) of maintaining installations and facilities.
