MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy reacted, on Thursday 9 March, to the European Commission’s presentation of the proposal for two delegated acts adopted on 10 February and required by the Renewable Energy Directive.
The first sets out the rules for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin and thus establishes the conditions under which hydrogen can be considered renewable and hydrogen-based fuels can be considered renewable fuels of non-biological origin. The second act specifies the framework and methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emission reductions from these fuels and recycled carbon fuels.
Markus Pieper (EPP/German), rapporteur for the ‘RED II’ directive on renewable energy, expressed his dissatisfaction on behalf of his political group and recalled that Parliament did not want the additionality principle, proposed in the first delegated act, which allows the recognition that the electricity used by hydrogen producers is of renewable origin when their production installation is directly connected to an installation using renewable energy. The MEP considers the Commission’s proposal to be insufficient and has already announced that he will be submitting objections.
“There should be no principle of additionality. This will cause relocations in Europe of companies that are linked to additionality”, he said, after mentioning the omission of biomass: “We find it incomprehensible that hydrogen from bioenergy is not recognised”.
Nicolas Gonzalez Casares (S&D, Spanish) and Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe, French), shadow rapporteurs for the same directive, acknowledge the imperfect nature of these delegated acts, but both insist on the importance of adopting them as soon as possible in order to give a positive signal to investors and to harmonise the renewable energy directive.
“It would be a mistake to object”, said Nicolas Gonzalez Casares. “A big mistake even, because it does not go in the direction of renewable energy. The control procedure should not be maintained for months and months. Investors need certainty and a clear directive on renewables is needed”.
While some MEPs still have concerns about additionality, temporary and geographical correlations (see EUROPE 13120/6), the entry into force of the rules (2028 for the additionality principle) or the possibility of achieving 10 million tonnes of non-biological renewable fuels by 2030, as set out in the REPowerEU strategy, many MEPs also welcome the compromise effort and consider the text to be “balanced”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)