EU defines what makes hydrogen ‘green’

(Transport and Environment, 13 Feb 2023) EU’s executive body adopts final proposal on rules for hydrogen production that qualify for EU support.

The European Commission’s rules for green hydrogen, adopted on Friday evening, provide much-needed investment certainty for green hydrogen, says Transport & Environment (T&E). But the group has criticised the decision to relax rules for green hydrogen production that allow projects starting before 2028 to use electricity produced from coal and gas. The Commission surprisingly chose to qualify as ‘renewable’ hydrogen produced from a low carbon electricity grid using nuclear electricity. 

Geert Decock, electricity & energy manager at T&E said: “The EU has provided clarity on what makes hydrogen green or not. This will kickstart investments in hydrogen and e-fuels, which are crucial for decarbonising our ships, planes and heavy industry. And by coupling green hydrogen generation with additional renewable capacity, the Commission will avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of creating new demand for already limited supplies of renewable electricity.”

From 2028, as production starts to scale up, hydrogen projects will need to add additional renewables to the local grid to match their demand.  This will help to avoid renewables being diverted from the grid and putting pressure on household and businesses’ energy bills.

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Transport and Environment, 13 Feb 2023: EU defines what makes hydrogen ‘green’