Germany plans to open hydrogen bureaus in Moscow and Riyadh, according to German foreign minister Heiko Maas.

"Together with renewable energies, hydrogen offers a way out of the global climate catastrophe that fossil energy has brought us into,” Maas said at the Berlin Forum Energy Transition Dialogue. “Accordingly, a huge market for the future is emerging. If oil was black gold, then hydrogen is the invisible gold of the future."

Germany will also support today's fossil fuel producers to avoid destructive trends in world politics. It intends to expand the dialogue with fossil fuel producers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and others so that they can adapt their business models in good time, Maas added.

German foreign minister noted that if earlier oil fields led to interstate conflicts, then hydrogen fuel can be produced in any country.

Berlin intends to build an "international hydrogen policy" and to invest in the coming years EUR 2 billion ($2.38 billion) in the hydrogen fuel market, Kallanish notes.

“The future global hydrogen market must be open to everyone, but this can only be achieved with binding international agreements,” the minister noted. “For example, it is about the question of what we mean by 'green hydrogen.' Also about questions of market access and connectivity.”

Last month, German economy minister Peter Altmaier said he sees potential for cooperation with Russia in the field of hydrogen. This includes the development and production of equipment, the implementation of infrastructure projects for the production, storage and transportation of hydrogen.

An idea was floated last year that Russia could use the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to transport hydrogen to Germany. The polemic pipeline project is in the final stages of construction. US sanctions have threatened the future of the project, which is backed by European energy companies. Defying Washington, Nord Stream 2 AG has resumed the final pipelaying of the project this year.

Russia plans to expand its hydrogen production with the goal of becoming a global player. The Russian Energy Strategy sets hydrogen export targets of 200,000 tonnes of hydrogen by 2024 and 2 million t by 2035.