EU legislators on Friday (8 December) struck a political settlement on the ultimate piece of the Union’s hydrogen coverage, establishing a grid planning physique that can progressively change into independant from current fuel community operators.
The propsed “hydrogen and decarbonised fuel” package deal, tabled in December 2021 by the European Fee, seeks to advertise low-carbon and renewable gases as a approach to meet the bloc’s 2030 local weather targets.
After a partial deal was struck final week, EU negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of EU member states concluded negotiations on the ultimate piece of the package deal on Friday (8 December).
“For the primary time in historical past, we’re making a authorized framework for hydrogen on the EU power market,” mentioned former Polish prime minister Jerzy Buzek who was the lead speaker on the file for the European Parliament.
The compromise deal will likely be formally rubber-stamped by the Parliament and Council after negotiations conclude on a separate suggest to reform the EU energy market, as negotiators launched linkages into the textual content.
Settlement on the proposed regulation was delayed final week after Buzek insisted to scrap the proposed hydrogen community governance construction, introduce biomethane targets into the legislation, and insisted that EU international locations combination demand for hydrogen purchases.
None of those calls for may be discovered within the ultimate textual content. Within the coming years, a supervising construction for hydrogen community operators (ENNOH) will likely be created, mirroring comparable our bodies for fuel and electrical energy.
Consultants had suggested towards folding hydrogen planning into the fuel community physique ENTSOG – a physique bringing collectively fuel pipeline operators – warning that incumbents could be tempted to bar potential new entrants and deform the market to their benefit.
Their warnsing had been broadly heard. In 2026, the newly established ENNOH will work on a ten-year hydrogen growth plan, along with the present fuel and electrical energy community operators.
In 2027, fuel corporations will get to fold a few of their pipelines into ENNOH – infrastructure that may be retrofitted to move hydrogen as a substitute of fossil fuel. And as of 2028, ENNOH will likely be anticipated to function totally independently.
The phase-in interval left some observers sceptical. “Unbiased ENNOH with out preliminary independence,” commented Josche Muth, head of regulatory affairs on the Danish power firm Ørsted.
Hydrogen analyst Gniewomir Flis cautioned that fuel grid operators will likely be tempted to “unstrand as many belongings as they will” thereby delaying the rollout of hydrogen infrastructure, whereas Greenpeace mentioned the deal “dodges a battle of curiosity in new hydrogen grid.”
Trade group Hydrogen Europe, for its half, welcomed the creation of ENNOH, saying the transfer “places it at an equal degree with electrical energy and fuel carriers, highlighting its elementary position within the power transition.”
Buzek’s different demand, the introduction a binding biomethane goal of 35 billion cubic meters (bcm) for 2030, in keeping with the EU’s REPowerEU plan to ditch Russian fuel, was not retained and relegated to a recital within the textual content.
In the meantime, the creation of a joint patrons cartel for hydrogen “have to be totally voluntary,” the Council mentioned in a press launch.
One other provision of the settlement targets the Kremlin extra straight. “The regulation will include provisions permitting member states to undertake restrictions to the provision of pure fuel, together with liquefied pure fuel (LNG), from Russia or Belarus,” the assertion provides.
The ultimate provision pertains to a solidarity clause between EU international locations within the occasion of fuel provide shortages. Within the occasion of a disaster “default provisions” will apply until international locations have a bilateral settlement in place.
[Edited by Frédéric Simon]
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