8 November 2024 – Earlier this week various stakeholders, CEOs and policymakers met for the fourth Renewable Hydrogen Summit. Opening the event with a video statement, President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We need to accelerate the creation of clean lead markets. We’re working closely with Member states and industry offtakers (….) to identify their priorities. This will be a key part of the Clean Industrial Deal (…). We want to prioritise the infrastructure needed to connect large scale hydrogen projects with end users. And we’ll tap into Europe’s vast renewable potential and bring it to our industries to help them decarbonise.”
The Commission wants to continue supporting the scale up of renewable hydrogen production. The next auction of the EU Hydrogen bank, to be held in December, will have €1.2 bn in funding. The European Commission president said: “Investments in European hydrogen are set to grow by 140% in 2024, with Europe contributing nearly a third of global investments in electrolysers. Renewable hydrogen is here, it is growing, and this is only the beginning.”
Renewable hydrogen for hard to electrify sectors
The incoming Commission is determined to phase out Russian gas and gradually replace it with wind energy and renewables-based electrification. That’s good. During the European Parliament’s confirmation hearing of the Energy Commissioner-Designate Dan Jørgensen re-affirmed commitment to publishing an Electrification Action Plan. He said: “Faster electrification will be decisive for the transition and should come with more renewables as well as flexibility.” Specifically, Commissioner-Designate Jørgensen explained that electrifying our energy system is the most cost-efficient way to reduce carbon emissions. And that electrification and flexibility can boost European competitiveness, and reduce energy prices by 25% by 2030, and by 33% by 2040.
The Electrification Action Plan proposed by Jørgensen is exactly what Europe needs now to stay the course to climate neutrality. While the European power sector is rapidly decarbonising other sectors of the economy are stalling. Renewable hydrogen production can play an important role here. Especially for hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy industry and energy intensive transport notably aviation and shipping.
With the right policies to support electrification and renewable hydrogen Europe will continue to build a strong and competitive value chain and decarbonise its economy and energy systems.
Background:
The Renewable Hydrogen Coalition (RHC) promotes the role of renewable hydrogen to deliver the EU’s long-term decarbonisation goals. The Coalition is the voice of the value chain, including leading renewable suppliers, innovative start-ups, investors and industrial off-takers all dedicated to making Europe the global leader in renewable hydrogen solutions.
