On Wednesday 10 February, the European Commission published the roadmap for its future initiative to revise EU gas rules to facilitate the market entry of renewable and low-carbon gases, including hydrogen.
Scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year, this initiative is intended to translate some of the actions proposed in the framework of the European Green Deal into legislative measures, specifically the strategy for integrating the energy system (see EUROPE 12523/2) and the hydrogen strategy (see EUROPE 12523/1).
Among the objectives, the roadmap in particular mentions the need: - to ensure the emergence of cost-effective and competitive hydrogen infrastructures and markets; - to facilitate local and decentralised production of renewable and low-carbon natural gas, for example by enabling access of biomethane and synthetic methane to infrastructure (pipelines, storage and LNG terminals) as well as to the market; - to ensure a more comprehensive and inclusive infrastructure planning; - to avoid a lock-in of natural gas demand.
In order to achieve this, the Commission envisages a combination of both legislative and non-legislative instruments, including in particular a revision of the Directive (2009/73) on the internal market rules for natural gas, Regulation (715/2009) on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks, and network codes in the area of gas.
“The hydrogen related elements of the initiative may either be addressed by a revision of the above instruments or by a new legal instrument”, the institution further emphasised.
The public consultation on the roadmap will close on 10 March.
To take part in the consultation and view the roadmap: http://bit.ly/3aiYO6t (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)