At the annual conference of Eurogas - the association representing the gas sales and distribution sector in Europe - devoted to renewable gases, on Thursday 4 July, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, welcomed, in a video message, the recent advances made by the European Commission to decarbonise the gas sector, in particular the legal bases for developing the hydrogen economy in Europe.
She spoke about the first auction held under the European Hydrogen Bank, which resulted in the selection of seven renewable hydrogen projects that will receive €720 million in funding via the Innovation Fund (see EUROPE 13402/7).
Ms Simson went on to say that the budget for the second auction, scheduled for later this year and currently being prepared, would be €1.2 billion.
She also explained that the European Commission would be presenting rules for calculating the greenhouse gas savings achieved by low-carbon hydrogen.
Whether financed by European or national funds, the EU currently has 254 renewable hydrogen production projects, of which 170 are in operation and 84 under construction.
“We have done everything we set out to do and, in doing so, we have placed Europe as a leader in the transition to renewable gases”, said Ms Simson. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)