Austria made a first positive assessment of the 2018 renewable hydrogen initiative at the Energy Council in Brussels on 24 September.
Twenty-seven Member States, including Sweden since July, two European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, the European Commission and around 100 companies have supported the hydrogen initiative launched a year ago (see EUROPE 12098/17).
The signatories are sending “a strong political signal in favour of renewable hydrogen throughout the EU”, the Austrian Minister said.
The European Commission has highlighted the potential of hydrogen for the energy transition and for achieving the 32% renewable energy target. The share of renewables in electricity is expected to reach 55% by 2030 and hydrogen has an important role to play in this context, she said.
The hydrogen group of experts it has established will meet next November.
The Dutch Minister considered that there was a need for collaboration between Member States on the production of 'clean' hydrogen. He called on the Commission to adopt a hydrogen action plan. Italy wants to accelerate research on clean energy to better combat climate change (seasonal energy storage).
For Latvia, hydrogen is part of the solution. “Our efforts must focus on electrolysis”, said Luxembourg, which is asking to work on the efficiency of this hydrogen technology. Germany, for its part, stressed the need to address the problems of cost and efficiency losses.
Luxembourg is calling for a reform of the Energy Charter Treaty to bring it into line with global climate objectives. It indicated that the cumulative carbon emissions resulting from foreign investment in fossil fuels since the entry into force of this treaty in 1998 are equivalent to about twice the EU's carbon budget.
Member States gave the Commission a mandate last July to revise the Energy Charter Treaty. Negotiations are expected to start in early 2020. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)