Germany’s Hydrogen Strategy Delayed Electrification by Pulling the Workforce the Wrong Way - CleanTechnica

The article from CleanTechnica critically examines Germany’s hydrogen strategy, particularly its focus on developing a hydrogen pipeline infrastructure that currently lacks customers and suppliers. This strategic choice has had significant unintended consequences on Germany’s workforce and training priorities, ultimately delaying the electrification, grid expansion, and renewable energy integration that the country urgently needs. By positioning hydrogen infrastructure as a long-term, regulated national asset, Germany sent strong signals to industry, regulators, and training institutions, prompting substantial investments in hydrogen-specific skills development, certifications, and training centers. For example, a major German gas transmission system operator invested around €10 million in a dedicated hydrogen training facility, reflecting the expectation that hydrogen would be central to the future energy system. While hydrogen-related skills are largely transferable to other industrial contexts, the article highlights the opportunity cost of this focus: finite training time, institutional resources, and career signaling have been disproportionately directed toward hydrogen at the expense of electrification efforts. This shift is problematic because Germany’s current decarbonization bott