Barometer for renewable gases in Switzerland, edition 7, April 2025

The market development of hydrogen is currently sluggish. In the international H2 ramp-up, there is a clear gap between announced targets and actual realisation. This is not least because production costs are higher than previously assumed. Our adjusted HySuiX parameters reflect these developments. Switzerland's national hydrogen strategy dispenses with targets and relies on decentralized responsibility and regional H₂ hubs. The industry is calling for additional planning security and faster approval procedures. The federal government's review of the connection to the EU hydrogen backbone is welcomed, as this is considered to be central. There is reason to hope for a generous interpretation of P&D plants that can reclaim electricity grid fees. The EU has introduced the Union database for PoS guarantees, which is changing the guarantee of origin market. In Switzerland, there is a new national HKN register, and talks are currently being held on recognizing virtually imported biomethane. In Switzerland, the Network Transformation Plan for Renewable Gases (NeG) initiative has also been launched - modelled on the German H2vorOrt initiative. The strategies for renewable gases in our neighboring countries are different: France has ambitious expansion targets for biomethane and rapidly increasing feed-in volumes. Germany, on the other hand, is focusing more on hydrogen in the long term and has no expansion target for biomethane. Switzerland has no expansion targets for renewable gases. However, biomethane feed-in will be subsidized by the federal government for the first time from this year, only to be possibly cut back again towards 2027 as a result of the austerity program.