Latvia’s Sustainable Energy Technology Development Plan to 2035: what it means for net-zero tech manufacturing and green hydrogen
Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved the Ministry of Economics’ "Sustainable Energy Technology Development Plan to 2035", which links net-zero technology manufacturing, industrial decarbonisation, and the creation of a green hydrogen ecosystem into one integrated agenda. This post highlights the key targets and the practical bottlenecks that will determine whether the plan becomes investable and deliverable in Latvia.
NEWS
HydrogenLatvia
1/26/20262 min read
On 20 January, the Cabinet of Ministers approved "Latvia’s Sustainable Energy Technology Development Plan to 2035" (Latvijas ilgtspējīgas enerģijas tehnoloģiju attīstības plāns līdz 2035. gadam) drafted by the Ministry of Economics. The plan’s stated purpose is to define action directions and priority measures to support Latvia’s economic development by increasing the industry’s ability to develop manufacturing based on net-zero emission technologies.
For the hydrogen community, the key signal is that green hydrogen is positioned as one of three integrated pillars, not as a standalone topic.
What the plan covers (3 integrated directions)
The plan is structured around three mutually integrated directions:
Development of Net Zero technologies manufacturing capacities
Decarbonization of the industrial sector and uptake of climate-neutral technologies in Latvian industry
Creation of a green hydrogen production ecosystem
This framing matters: it links hydrogen to industrial demand, technology supply chains, and investment mobilisation, rather than treating it only as an energy-sector experiment.
Key targets mentioned publicly
Based on the information published in the business press, the plan sets several measurable targets for the period to 2030, including:
At least €300 million in attracted investment for net-zero technology investments by 2030
At least two Latvian companies producing net-zero technology equipment with a combined annual turnover of at least €50 million by 2030
Training of at least 200 specialists by 2030
Development and piloting of at least three new technology prototypes by 2028
For industrial decarbonisation, targets referenced include:
Reducing industrial energy intensity by 20% vs 2022 by 2030
Increasing the share of renewables in industry’s final energy consumption to at least 78.1% by 2030
Increasing the share of RFNBO in hydrogen used in industry to 42% by 2030 and 60% by 2035
Hydrogen ecosystem: the practical bottlenecks are acknowledged
A useful part of the public summary is that it does not present hydrogen as “inevitable”. It explicitly flags risks that the ecosystem will need to address, including:
Low demand and weak offtake signals
High costs compared to fossil alternatives
Technology uncertainty in some end-uses (notably aviation and synthetic fuels)
Regulatory uncertainty
Underdeveloped transport and storage solutions
Competition with EU regions that already have more mature hydrogen systems
The dependency of large-scale green hydrogen on significant volumes of renewable electricity
These constraints are not new, but having them reflected in an official planning context is important—because it shifts the discussion from “vision” to implementation conditions.
What to watch next (questions that determine whether this becomes investable)
A plan is only as effective as the mechanisms behind it. For stakeholders across Latvia’s hydrogen value chain, a few practical questions will matter most:
Demand creation: What instruments will create bankable offtake (public procurement, CfDs, quotas, industrial decarbonisation support)?
Infrastructure sequencing: What comes first—production, grid upgrades, port/industrial zone readiness, storage/transport—and who pays?
Project pipeline: Which projects are expected to reach FID by 2027–2030, and what are their assumed end-uses?
Industrial competitiveness: How will Latvia avoid competing only on cost against established manufacturing regions—what is the “unique offer”?
Skills and suppliers: How will the “200 specialists” target translate into specific curricula, certification, and employer demand?
Why this matters for Latvia’s Hydrogen Valley ambition
If implemented with clear instruments, the plan could help Latvia move from fragmented initiatives toward a more coherent Hydrogen Valley logic: co-locating renewable power, industrial demand, port logistics, and technology capabilities.
The next step is to track how the plan is operationalised—funding lines, eligibility rules, and concrete milestones—because that is where feasibility is decided.
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