Ministers from the European Union’s Member States expressed particularly contrasting views on the treatment of low-carbon hydrogen (produced in particular from nuclear electricity) in future EU legislation on Monday 19 December, during a debate on the gas package.
Several countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Spain and Estonia) have called for the deletion of Article 8a proposed by the Czech Presidency of the EU Council, which allows Member States to take into account low-carbon fuels of non-biological origin, including low-carbon hydrogen, in the calculation of their targets for the share of renewable energy in industry and transport (see EUROPE 13080/10). Currently in the interinstitutional negotiation phase (‘trilogues’), these targets will be set by the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
These Member States have relied in particular on the opinions of the legal services of the EU Council and the European Commission, which question the legality of the article.
In response, the French Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, criticised the “extraordinarily hypocritical” positions of her counterparts. In her view, the above-mentioned countries benefit from nuclear electricity while continuing to discriminate against it in the drafting of legislation, in disregard of the principle of technological neutrality and the choice of each Member State to define its energy mix.
“Article 8a is an important step forward to ensure that all Member States’ decarbonisation capacities are fully taken into account and that there is fair competition between renewable and low-carbon hydrogen”, said Pannier-Runacher.
She was supported by the Slovak, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian and Croatian ministers.
Hydrogen/fossil gas mixture
Several ministers also expressed their opposition to the provision that Member States would be obliged to accept a certain level of hydrogen content in gas flows at interconnection points from 1 October 2025 (2% in the Czech draft compromise and 5% in the Commission proposal).
According to the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria and Estonia, this should be voluntary. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)