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EU Green Deal
The EU Green Deal consists of a set of legislative and non-legislative acts that set a framework for the European Union to reach the 2015 Paris Agreement objectives and achieve net “climate neutrality” by 2050, as the first continent to do so.
On 11th December 2019, the EU Green Deal was launched via a communication from the European Commission. It plans a roadmap of key actions for the years to come. In the words of President von der Leyen, “the EU Green Deal is the EU’s new growth strategy.” In the aftermaths of the Covid-19 crisis, the President reaffirmed the essence of the Green Deal, which should be used both as "a compass" and "a motor for the recovery." The EU Green Deal key actions include the European Climate Law to enshrine the climate neutrality objective by 2050 in EU law (the overarching goal of the EU Green Deal) and the introduction of the Fit for 55 and the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Market packages. The latter two consist of major revisions of the existing legislation in the fields of energy, climate, and transport, as well as the introduction of new legislation.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the European Commission followed on the EU Green Deal objectives with the REPowerEU that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition and increase Europe’s energy security.
What's in it for hydrogen?
In the various sectors tackled by the Green Deal, hydrogen is recurrently mentioned as part of the key solutions to decarbonise the economy.
Decarbonising industry is a priority of the European Green Deal. The Commission explicitly recognises the importance of supporting the central role that clean hydrogen and fuel cells can play in industrial policy to help decarbonise. While hydrogen can indeed be used as a clean feedstock, other priority areas for industrial decarbonisation include energy storage and CCUS, where hydrogen also has a large potential to showcase. Under the new EU Industrial Strategy, priority areas indeed include clean hydrogen, fuel cells, energy storage and CCUS.
The Commission’s strategy focusses heavily on the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors such as steel, cement, and chemicals. Here, support for technology deployment is expected, creating more opportunities for hydrogen to help decarbonise. In many of these energy-intensive sectors clean hydrogen is indeed an efficient solution for decarbonisation. For certain sectors (such as steel), it may even be the only option available.
As a new tool, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism aims to protect companies that choose to invest in low-carbon technologies such as clean hydrogen to decarbonise energy-intensive industrial processes.
Although not explicitly mentioned by the communication like other areas, hydrogen can play a role also in transport, especially in heavy-duty and long-haul transport. Mobilised tools to stir up the transition towards clean mobility are expected to raise fossil fuel costs for maritime, air and road transport and to lower those of cleaner fuels. Hydrogen could, consequently, benefit from increased competitiveness. Alternative and sustainable transport fuels are explicitly mentioned by the Commission as part of the solutions to decarbonise transport. Regulatory clarity and financial incentives are being provided to create an uptake in the production and infrastructure of these fuels, including hydrogen.
The above-mentioned legislative revisions also aim to accelerate the deployment of zero- and low-emission vehicles and vessels. FCEV (fuel cell electric vehicle) and FCH (fuel cell vehicle) manufacturers, as well as the whole hydrogen and fuel cell value chain players indirectly are involved in creating an incentive framework to scale up and roll out FC mobility technologies and deployment of hydrogen refuelling station infrastructure. In this regard, the Commission aims to complement infrastructure support for Member States and make up for persistent gaps, notably via the launch of new funding calls.
Multimodal transport is also highly promoted as part of the Communication. The planned shift from road to rail and transport for freight is a priority and could foster further development opportunities for FC vessels.
On hydrogen networks, the communication states that they should be part of a smart energy infrastructure. It calls both for the decarbonisation of gas and for the upgrade of existing infrastructure, for it to remain fit for purpose and climate resilient. The realisation of these two ambitions could foster the integration of hydrogen into the gas grid. Gas decarbonisation is to be facilitated via enhancing support for the development of decarbonised gases, via a forward-looking design for a competitive decarbonised gas market, and by addressing the issue of energy-related methane emissions. Moreover, the advocated smart infrastructure should enable sector integration (via the smart integration of renewables, CCUS and energy storage), where hydrogen, as a versatile energy carrier would play a central role. The main regulatory tool for this is the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas package, which was adopted by the co-legislators in December 2023.
To facilitate the achievement of the ambition within the communication, the Commission intends to support the emergence of alliances, including the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, led by the European Commission in partnership with the industry and other stakeholders, and to make use of IPCEIs (Important Project of Common European Interest) to facilitate State aid and support new innovative value chains, including clean hydrogen. Three such IPCEI waves have been greenlit and announced by the Commission on hydrogen projects, totalling over €38 billion from a blend of public and private funds, supporting more than 109 projects involving over 80 companies.
Links to the original document and additional information:
EU Green Deal Communication COM (2019) 640 final
European Clean Hydrogen Alliance
European Circular Economy Action Plan
Communication on European Green Deal Investment Plan COM(2020) 21 final
