On the sidelines of the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, US Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette; Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko; and European Union Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Cañete signed a joint statement of future cooperation on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

In the statement, METI, ENER, and DOE asserted a shared strong interest in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies which could bring significant benefits to the energy sector, the economy and to the environment. Hydrogen and fuel cells are part of a broad and sustainable energy portfolio and could be a key to opening up opportunities and value in all sectors, from transportation to industry, as well as enabling reliable, clean and affordable electricity.

The organizations have been world leaders in funding hydrogen and fuel cell programs over more than three decades and intend to strengthen their unity to accelerate the development of sustainable hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the world.

The organizations recognize the importance of reducing the cost of hydrogen for its affordability as well as reliability. The organizations strongly believe that their envisaged cooperation can lead to expansion of international collaboration and contribute to scale-up hydrogen in the global economy.

While continuing to work with many countries through other international partnerships and collaborations, the organizations believe that they have much to gain from working together.

The organizations intend to explore how to best initiate and implement, consistent with their energy dialogues, an effective framework for cooperation on hydrogen, possibly through developing a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) in preparation for the 2^nd Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting which will be held on 25 September 2019.

The organizations would plan to work together and with other countries, to accelerate progress in hydrogen technologies globally. The envisaged MOC would facilitate the development of concrete actions through cooperation in the following possible areas which are listed in the “Tokyo Statement” that was released as a Chair’s summary at the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting, held in Tokyo in October 2018.