Hydrogen: an important piece of the Green Deal’s climate puzzle

17.05.2021 17:03

Hydrogen: an important piece of the Green Deal’s climate puzzle

A green leaf with hydrogen written on it.

"Hydrogen is a key technology which will play a crucial role in achieving Europe's climate targets. As a substitute for fossil fuels, renewable and low-carbon hydrogen can contribute to CO2 reduction in energy-intensive industries such as steel, chemicals or cement”, said Angelika Niebler MEP, EPP Group Spokeswoman on hydrogen energy.

This evening, the European Parliament will open its plenary session with a debate on a European Strategy for Hydrogen. Its main aim is to create a strategic roadmap on how to develop a hydrogen economy in Europe, to boost demand and scale up the production of hydrogen.

“I am convinced that hydrogen can become a European success story. It is a major priority to create a market for affordable hydrogen as soon as possible. Hydrogen from low-carbon production has a special role to play as a transitional solution. Only if we complement the production of renewable hydrogen with so-called blue hydrogen, will we create a functioning market fast enough. We made sure that technologies for the production of low-carbon hydrogen, such as carbon capture and utilisation, are promoted accordingly”, declared Niebler.

The production capacities for hydrogen in Europe are still far too small. The EPP Group has been calling on the European Commission and all stakeholders to create an enabling environment for a massive expansion of hydrogen production in Europe. This is the only way forward to create a functioning market and thus competitive prices.

The European Commission estimates that by 2050, investments of up to €470 billion could be necessary for renewable hydrogen alone.

“The use of hydrogen will require an appropriate infrastructure. We should start by using our existing gas grid for hydrogen transport. The so-called ‘blending’ can also make a decisive contribution to the decarbonisation of the gas sector”, Niebler said. Blending is the admixture of hydrogen with natural gas.

The EPP Group insisted that for the upcoming investments, the EU must set the right incentives so that private and public investors invest in all relevant technologies along the hydrogen value chain. The EU also needs to ensure that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in particular have access to financing opportunities and the necessary technology in this development.

“I am glad that we were able to reach a pragmatic compromise that takes hydrogen into account as an important technology for the Green Deal and at the same time keep the competitiveness of our industry in mind", Niebler concluded.

Note to editors

The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 178 Members from all EU Member States

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