On Wednesday 24 June, in a letter addressed to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, in particular, a coalition of 33 European organisations, mainly from the gas sector, but also from heavy industry and the energy technology sector, called on the European Union to support all forms of “clean hydrogen”, including hydrogen produced from natural gas, in combination with CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies, often referred to as ‘blue hydrogen’.
The letter comes a few days after a Commission document on the EU’s future hydrogen strategy was leaked to the press (see EUROPE 12511/11).
The leaked document states that the strategy, which will be unveiled on 8 July, will prioritise renewable hydrogen - defined by the Commission as hydrogen produced by electrolysing water with electricity from renewable sources - while providing a transitional role for blue hydrogen.
The letter’s signatories state that they fully recognise and support the growth in renewable hydrogen, but they believe that it “will not be enough to develop a commercial market for clean hydrogen in the next decade”, as it will take time to scale up.
James Watson, the Secretary General of Eurogas, added: “Until we get there, the EU must seize existing opportunities and that means using all sources of clean hydrogen”.
To read the letter, go to: https://bit.ly/3eyOyqg (Damien Genicot)