A group of firms in the hydrogen sector have written to EU policymakers to request the bloc’s Renewable Energy Directive (Red) incentivises renewable hydrogen use only.

The European Commission’s proposed revision of Red last year introduced two binding sub-targets for the use of renewable hydrogen in the transport and industrial sectors.

The sub-targets are 2.6pc for renewable fuels from non-biological origin in for transport fuel and 50pc for renewable fuels in hydrogen consumption in industry.

But following new proposals released this week to dramatically increase hydrogen use in order to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian gas, some member states and MEPs have suggested the targets be extended to include blue hydrogen as part of their suggested amendments to the law.

This would lead to a diminished rollout of vital green hydrogen infrastructure, according to the letter’s signatories.

“Following the European Commission’s RepowerEU communication, released this Tuesday, the signatories of this letter call on EU policymakers to keep the [Red] for renewable hydrogen only and maintain the ambition proposed by the European Commission for renewable hydrogen and derived e-fuels uptake in priority sectors,” the letter says.

“The signatories of this letter call on EU policymakers to keep the [Red] for renewable hydrogen only” Renewable Hydrogen Coalition

Rolling out additional renewable energy capacity—which the European Commission estimates will need to be as high as 80GW to meet the EU’s hydrogen demand without Russian imports—is vital if the EU is to achieve energy independence and accelerate the transition to zero carbon, it adds.

“Facilitating the availability of additional renewable electricity to enable the rapid scale-up of renewable hydrogen production is… crucial,” it says.

“This is the key role that [Red] should play—promote renewable energy—and why it cannot be open to fossil low-carbon hydrogen.”

It is also crucial to keep the Commission’s proposed sub-targets on transport and industry, according to the letter, which is coordinated by business group the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition.

“This will ensure efficient use of limited hydrogen volumes in this early phase and avoid creating demand in sectors where more efficient decarbonisation solutions are available,” it says. 

“Fostering pure renewable hydrogen applications and avoiding blending with natural gas throughout the economy will also help ensure the most optimal use of this highly valuable resource and maximise its decarbonisation potential across our economy.”

Signatories to the letter include utilities Enel and Iberdrola and electrolyser manufacturers Nel and Sunfire.

---

Author: Tom Young