Hydrogen is a key technology for the European energy transition. It can store surplus electricity from renewables and decarbonize sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as industry. However, the market ramp-up is being held back by high costs, sluggish investment and geopolitical uncertainties. Against this backdrop, the EU targets for 2030 could be almost impossible to achieve. The interdisciplinary report “H2 Reality Check” by CASSIS (University of Bonn) and EWI (University of Cologne) analyses techno-economic and geopolitical aspects of the ramp-up in the context of the EU decarbonization targets. Current challenges, key study results and political recommendations for the EU and the new German government will be presented and discussed with experts in a digital panel discussion.