European Commissioner Dubravka ŠUICA @the European Hydrogen Week 2026

Name: European Commissioner Dubravka ŠUICA @the European Hydrogen Week 2026
Uploaded: 2026-10-27T13:30:10+00:00
Duration: 771 s

00:03 - 00:22

Speaker 1

Good afternoon. Thank you for this introduction. Dear ladies and gentlemen, but in the previous panel, you said that unfortunately you have to stop. And I thought it's fortunate, but okay. So it is a pleasure to join you for another Hydrogen Week.

00:22 - 03:43

Speaker 3

It is always good to see policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and innovators coming together to shape the future of clean energy. I know I'm preaching in the core when I say this, but the future of clean energy cannot be built unless we work together. The European Union understands this. This is why I welcome this year's special guest, Japan, with its expertise in industrial innovation and in hydrogen technologies across the whole value chain, to be here as our esteemed partner, country partner. And it is also why I am speaking to you today as the Commissioner for the Mediterranean.

Because working with our neighbors and with our partners is crucial, especially right now. The energy crisis caused by the developments in the Strait of Hormuz and in Bab-el-Mandeb shows us just again that Europe needs a secure energy supply. I know that you heard this morning my colleague Commissioner Dan Jørgensen via video, but I will try also to explain the situation and our Commission's position. The cost of fossil fuel dependency is simply too high. To achieve a competitive economy, an economy that empowers people to innovate and protects the livelihoods of our citizens, we need more diversified sources of energy.

We need energy that is consistently affordable, reliable, and sustainable. Today, I want to talk about our work building partnerships that deliver. Why invest in renewables in the Mediterranean? First, because the potential is extraordinary. Africa has around 40% of the world's solar potential.

And North Africa's solar and wind resources alone could exceed the European Union's current capacity twice over. Second, because the Mediterranean also has great potential for connectivity. It is a maritime highway with 40% of the world's maritime goods traffic passing through only 1% of the world's sea surface. So Mediterranean is only 1% of the whole world's sea surface, at the same time 40% of maritime traffic. This means the energy we produce, and especially the green hydrogen and green ammonia that these investments produce, can reach a global market.

Third, we have built solid relationships with our partners across our Mare Nostrum. These partners want to grow their industry together with us. They also want to turn the potential of the region into jobs and shared prosperity. Following the principle of the Pact for the Mediterranean: joint ownership first, co-creation second, and shared responsibility third. For this vision to happen, our partners need investment and expertise.

03:43 - 04:17

Speaker 2

Despite the huge potential I mentioned last year, Africa took only 2% of global renewable investment.

This investment gap must be closed. Connecting good projects and investors, creating predictable rules that give businesses the confidence they need to commit, and limiting risk. These are practical challenges. But we have been working with our partners to overcome these challenges through practical solution. This solution is Team-MED, the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy and Clean Tech Cooperative Initiative.

04:17 - 05:41

Speaker 3

We launched Team-MED last June as one of the flagships of the Pact for the Mediterranean. Our ambition is to mobilize 25 billion euro in investments by 2035 in renewables, in electricity grids and interconnections that allow this energy to reach where it is most needed, in clean technology manufacturing and industrial cooperation, and in the development of green hydrogen value chains. All while we support the training and upskilling of 100,000 workers across the region. So how does the Team-MED work? It works by connecting promising projects with the partners and financing to bring them forward.

Through the Team-MED investment platform, just yesterday, we had the first meeting of the platform. We brought together financial institutions, private investors, project promoters, and the European Commission. Many of them were already engaged when we were designing this tool. Now, we are moving from design to delivery. Identifying concrete obstacles early, improving project preparation, and exploring how European support can help mobilize additional investment.

05:41 - 12:18

Dubravka Šuica

How do we do this? By combining European guarantees and blended finance, including through EFSD+, to help reduce risks and attract private capital. By working with our partners towards regulatory cooperation that improves investment conditions, including permitting, grid access, and market frameworks. By investing also in skills development to ensure that investment creates lasting local capabilities. All with one goal: turning opportunities into concrete, viable projects.

Team-MED is broader than just hydrogen. It is also about decarbonization and achieving a green economy across the region. It is about investment and growth for our Southern Mediterranean partners. And as I already said, it is about competitiveness. But that is precisely where hydrogen projects play a key role.

We know that renewables can power our cars very efficiently through batteries. We know that they can power our homes. But there are crucial economic and industrial sectors where batteries just can't, just won't cut it. I'm taking about, I'm talking about the chemical industry. For example, e-fuels for aviation or maritime transport.

I'm talking about ammonia for fertilizers. I'm talking about steel production. Hydrogen can play a key role to help us green those hard-to-abate sectors where electrification is very challenging.

The Southern Mediterranean has the renewable resources to become a key player as we develop clean industrial and hydrogen value chains. And now, through Team Med, we have the tools to work on an approach that supports entire value chains to develop, going beyond individual production facilities while responding to local specificities. By achieving competitive production costs, connecting production to reliable demand and credible buyers, building the infrastructure to supply industry, and making sure all actors are protected by predictable rules and can access the finance they need. I can say that I'm proud that we already have concrete examples of the type of cooperation that Team Med is designed to expand and accelerate. Egypt, perhaps, is the best example.

First, we are supporting the modernization and expansion of the national grid, totaling 1.6 billion euro in investment. This is essential to integrate more renewable energy and create the conditions for further clean energy investments. Second, in Ain Sokhna, we enabled a major green hydrogen project already under development. The hydrogen is then converted into green ammonia, key for EU industry. This is a 575 million euro operation with a European electrolyzer at its heart.

And the ammonia is then exported to the European market. Ain Sokhna illustrates exactly the kind of partnerships we need to build competitive hydrogen value chains. And third, most recently, we are supporting the Niatt and Ras Ghareb wind projects using European wind technology. These two projects represent 500 megawatt in new onshore wind off the Gulf of Suez, financed together by the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction, and DEG. Each of these projects is solid on its own, but together they strengthen each other, forming the building blocks of a more connected and competitive clean energy and economy.

Dear colleagues, dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, this is Team Med in action, working with our partners to make the most of an opportunity we simply cannot miss. Building on our strengths, the Southern Mediterranean brings its renewable potential, Europe brings its market opportunities, financial instruments, and industrial expertise, and Japan brings its advanced technologies and experience in hydrogen innovation. Because being a first mover in the hydrogen space, you have learned many lessons that can speed the green transition across the world. Connecting these strengths is fundamental to our success. And there is also great potential working with other initiatives under the Pact for the Mediterranean.

For example, exploring complementarities on research and innovation together with the universities in the region through the Mediterranean University Initiative. I spoke about 100,000 new workers. We need skills, we need education for them, and this is why Mediterranean University Initiative is very important. Adding value to local economies and creating opportunities for people on all shores of the Mediterranean. We knew the benefits of clean energy, and they are huge.

They are stronger, we need stronger growth, we need more jobs, we need less pollution, and we need better health.

The numbers add up. Our interests are aligned. Now it's time to deliver. Mobilizing capital, delivering on our goals by implementing great projects, protecting our strategic sectors from shocks, hydrogen alongside renewable electricity and clean technologies is a critical part of this future. A future connected, not separated, connected, not separated by the Mediterranean Sea.

A bridge between our markets, our industries and our people. Thank you so much.

12:18 - 12:41

Speaker 4

First of all, thank you again, in Croatian hvala, and you show how your team, Team Med, contributes to building bridges, not only to other continents with the Mediterranean, but also between the technologies. That's the spirit we need and that's why we are happy to have you here second year in a row. We take a picture.