Will France prevail on the new EU rules for renewable hydrogen? The Commission proposes that this should also be considered ecological if nuclear energy is used in its production. The proposal met with little enthusiasm in Berlin.
In view of the growing importance of hydrogen for energy production, the European Commission has presented a Europe-wide standard definition of green hydrogen. This can “only be considered renewable hydrogen if it is generated from electricity from renewable sources,” said the EU Commission. Under certain conditions, hydrogen produced with the help of nuclear energy should also be considered sustainable.
If electricity for the necessary electrolysis is used from a network with a high proportion of nuclear energy and therefore low CO2 emissions, this could be labeled as green hydrogen, the commission proposed. Another requirement is that the network operator has concluded a long-term purchase agreement for renewable electricity in the region. This is intended to accelerate the expansion of wind and solar power at the same time. The regulation is also intended to prevent existing green electricity capacities from being absorbed by hydrogen producers and no longer being available for other types of use.
With the new guidelines, Brussels wants to create a legal framework for investors in the energy sector and for state aid. The rules are intended to apply to producers within the EU as well as to third-country producers importing renewable hydrogen into the EU. The question of the classification of nuclear energy could again cause a dispute between Germany and France. Both countries are planning a joint hydrogen pipeline from Spain via France to Germany. Paris also explicitly relies on so-called red hydrogen, which is produced with nuclear energy, and emphasizes that it is low in emissions.
Nuclear power is “not renewable energy,” said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin about the EU Commission’s plans. Germany primarily wants to use “green hydrogen” produced with renewable energies. The EU Parliament and the member states now have two months to examine the European Commission’s proposal for the definition of green hydrogen and to reject or accept it. You cannot submit change proposals.
