EU consults on decarbonisation, clean tech aid

Spanish Market: Biofuels, Biomass, Emissions, Hydrogen
11/03/25

The European Commission has opened a consultation on updates to its state aid rules, which aim to take into account the bloc's proposed clean industrial deal — designed to simplify and speed decarbonisation.

The commission is aiming to publish the rules in June, following input from EU states. The updated state aid rules would then apply to how the commission decides on EU states' financing of projects up until the end of 2030. The draft provides for member states' simplified tender procedures for renewables and energy storage. The commission specifically notes the possibility of granting aid without tender for less mature technologies, such as renewable hydrogen.

There would also be more flexibility for EU states aiding industrial decarbonisation, with a choice of tender-based schemes, direct support and new limits for very large projects. The commission lists batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, heat-pumps, electrolysers and carbon capture usage and storage among clean technologies that can be supported, as well as their key components and critical raw materials. Officials note the possibility of EU countries de-risking private investment.

The rules, when adopted, would also allow for investment in storage for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs), biofuels, bioliquids, biogas, biomethane, and biomass fuels as long as they obtain at least 75pc of their content from a directly connected and related production facility. Aid can only be granted for biofuels, biogas, and biomass fuel production if compliant with the bloc's renewables directive.

While the rules for biofuels are not new, they do reflect the wider scope of aid now foreseen by the commission. And officials say the rules allow for projects in the EU to receive aid from a member state if a comparably project would receive aid in a third country.

The commission released its proposed clean industrial deal in late February. The deal targets a simplification of rules, to allow EU member states to aid industrial decarbonisation, renewables rollout, clean tech manufacturing and de-risking private investments. Today's consultation runs until 25 April.

By Dafydd ab Iago

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

28/04/25

Trump works to blunt renewables growth

Washington, 28 April (Argus) — US president Donald Trump has started to impede development of renewable energy projects he sees as boondoggles, but he is facing challenges to his attempts to halt government funding and tax credits for the sector. Trump has attacked wind turbines and solar projects as part of a "Green New Scam" that should not be built, based on his preference for the fossil fuel-fired and nuclear power plants he says are more reliable and affordable. Trump selected a cabinet of like-minded individuals who oppose renewables and see little urgency to address climate change. He was elected to end the "nonsense" of building renewable resources that are heavily subsidised, make the grid less reliable and raise costs, energy secretary Chris Wright said in an interview on Earth Day. Interior secretary Doug Burgum on 16 April ordered Norwegian state-controlled Equinor to "immediately halt" construction of the 810MW Empire Wind project off New York. Trump had already ordered a freeze on future offshore wind leases , and suspending Empire Wind's permits is likely to spook investors even outside the renewables sphere. To reverse course on a fully permitted project is "bad policy" that "sends a chilling signal to all energy investment", American Clean Power Association chief executive Jason Grumet says. The US last week separately said it would impose anti-dumping duties on solar components imported from four southeast Asian countries that will range from 15pc to 3,400pc. Those duties — in effect from June to support US solar manufacturers — will be in addition to a 10pc across-the-board tariff the US imposed this month on most imports. Solar industry groups have said that steep import duties will make new installations unaffordable, stunting the industry's ability to grow. Trump has had less success in his push to axe support for renewables approved under Joe Biden. On 15 April, a federal judge ordered the administration to unfreeze billions of dollars for clean energy projects provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and 2021 infrastructure law. The administration lacks "unfettered power to hamstring in perpetuity two statutes", judge Mary McElroy wrote. In a separate ruling on 15 April, judge Tanya Chutkan prohibited the administration from suspending $14bn in grants distributed to nonprofits under the IRA for a greenhouse gas reduction programme. The administration is appealing both rulings. Targeting the windfall Trump could further undermine the growth of renewables by convincing Republicans in Congress to use an upcoming filibuster-proof budget package to repeal or narrow the IRA's tax credits for wind, solar and other clean energy projects. Critics of that law see the potential for $1 trillion in savings by repealing its tax credits, which could offset the costs of more than $5 trillion in planned tax cuts. But there appear to be enough votes in each chamber of Congress to spare at least some of the IRA's energy tax credits. In the Senate, where Republicans can only afford to lose three votes, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and three other Republicans signed a joint letter this month saying "wholesale repeal" of the tax credits would fuel uncertainty and undermine job creation. In the House of Representatives, where Republicans have a similarly slim majority, 21 Republicans voiced concerns earlier this year about repealing all of the tax credits. Renewables are on track to overtake natural gas as the largest source of US electricity by 2030 — assuming the tax credits and climate rules enacted under Biden remain intact — the EIA stated this month in its Annual Energy Outlook . The amount of power from renewables under the EIA's existing policy baseline by 2035 will increase by 135pc to 2.8bn MWh, while gas-fired power will decline by 14pc to 1.6bn MWh over the same time period. By Chris Knight Baseline US net power generation Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan’s Erex starts up biomass power plant in Vietnam

28/04/25

Japan’s Erex starts up biomass power plant in Vietnam

Tokyo, 28 April (Argus) — Japan's renewable energy developer Erex has started commercial operations at the 20MW Hau Giang biomass-fired power plant in Vietnam, the company announced on 25 April. The power plant in southern Vietnam's Hau Giang province is Erex's first biomass-fired generation project in the country and burns around 130,000 t/yr of rice husks. The electricity generated by the plant is sold under Vietnam's feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme. Erex aims to build up to 18 biomass-fired power plants in Vietnam following Hau Giang, and five plants in Cambodia. The company has started building two 50MW plants in northern Vietnam. These plants are expected to come on line by mid-2027 and burn wood residues. Erex also plans wood pellet production projects in southeast Asia, with up to 20 factories in Vietnam and several ones in Cambodia. The company's first wood pellet factory in Vietnam with a capacity of 150,000 t/yr has already started commercial production in late March. Erex's profits from projects in Vietnam and Cambodia are expected to grow rapidly and will account for more than half of its whole profits around 2030, according to the company. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Canada H2 sees opening as political chaos engulfs US

25/04/25

Canada H2 sees opening as political chaos engulfs US

Houston, 25 April (Argus) — Canada's hydrogen sector sees an opportunity to attract global customers as the US' bellicose stance toward its northern neighbor unites Canadians behind strengthening its energy capacity and as US political turmoil sends countries looking for other trading partners. "The mayhem south of the border has created a real national interest in exports," Trigon Pacific Terminals chief executive Robert Booker said this week at the Canadian Hydrogen Convention in Edmonton, Alberta. Trigon is building a berth at the port in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to handle low-carbon hydrogen converted to ammonia. "The choice, quite frankly, is become the 51st state or export," Booker said. "We should export, and there's broad understanding that that's good for Canada." Canadian energy exports from Alberta have largely gone south to the US. Ambitions to tap global markets have been stymied in years past by community and federal opposition to building rail and pipeline infrastructure that would connect the landlocked province to the Pacific coast. Multiple large-scale hydrogen proposals in western Canada were quietly shelved in the past year because of a lack of infrastructure, among other challenges, and Canadian companies were shut out of recent Asian auctions to buy hydrogen because of similar restraints. But Trump's return to the White House has changed Canadians' views on export infrastructure. Both candidates in the upcoming 28 April general election, including Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney who served as UN Special Envoy for Climate Action, have vowed to build out pipelines , rail corridors and other infrastructure — including electricity grids — to diversify energy exports away from the US. "We've never been this united in the country," said Julie Lemieux, chief executive officer of Triple Point Resources, which is developing a salt dome in Newfoundland for hydrogen storage. "That's the positive of the chaos. We've been notoriously slow to approve these projects and invest in infrastructure. Whoever wins next week, they've all committed to investing in infrastructure." Panelists speaking in Edmonton expressed relief that Canada didn't follow the US example of putting tariffs on China, whose technology and components will be instrumental to containing costs while building Canadian infrastructure. "For better or worse, whatever your opinion, the build out of new infrastructure today is really dependent on China, especially when it comes to green infrastructure, where there's already an embedded green premium," said Matthew Borys, vice president of corporate development at EverWind Fuels. "Keeping the cost down is super important to getting these things built out." The Trump administration's preference for fossil fuel extraction over clean energy and its expansionist designs on the Panama Canal are also seen as opportunities for Canadian developers to attract Asian customers who could avoid the canal by exporting from British Columbia terminals, said James Vultaggio, vice president of Atco EnPower. "The administration to the south is focused more on fossil fuel production and reducing environmental regulations," Vultaggio said. "If they want to cede their seat as a clean energy leader, then Canada has an opportunity to fill that seat, and we should take it." Trump has been outspoken in his preference for fossil fuel extraction and has paused all federal clean energy disbursements related to the Inflation Reduction Act, which has raised doubts about whether US hydrogen hubs can survive as they were initially conceived during the administration of former president Joe Biden. Clean energy incentives such as the 45V hydrogen production tax credit have also come under scrutiny as the Trump administration seeks to shrink government spending. The uncertainty around clean energy incentives in the US may well send American investment north, said Denis Caron, chief executive of the Belledune Port Authority in eastern Canada's New Brunswick province, which is positioning itself as a green energy hub targeting European markets. Caron said an American company working with the port of Belledune remains bullish on its prospects there and could serve as a model to attract even more American investment if the US continues to claw back support for clean energy. "We see an opportunity to attract American investment to Canada and make those types of investments," Caron said. "Canada has a golden opportunity to fulfill the requirement of supplying clean and green energy products globally." By Jasmina Kelemen Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Nations, groups ramp up efforts on climate unity

25/04/25

Nations, groups ramp up efforts on climate unity

Transition aligning with energy security and more Chinese climate leadership may reinforce co-operation despite the US withdrawal, writes Georgia Gratton London, 25 April (Argus) — The UN, IEA and countries including the UK and Brazil — which hosts this year's UN Cop 30 climate summit — stepped up efforts this week to demonstrate common ground and build unity on climate action and the energy transition. Organisations and countries are looking to capitalise on areas of commonality in order to preserve climate action, as the US administration repeatedly pushes back on measures to tackle climate change and moves to curb the energy transition. A virtual meeting convened this week by UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres and Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, drew 17 world leaders to commit to keeping climate action a key priority. "Leaders need reassurance that they're not acting alone," a senior UN official says. "Collaboration and multilateralism still matter," a senior Brazilian official says. Cop 30, which will take place in November in the Amazonian city of Belem, will "have a different dynamic", the official adds. "We want to prove that multilateralism is not only about negotiating documents… but about making them real." China's president, Xi Jinping, participated in this week's high-level meeting, the UN confirmed. While the US — the world's second-highest emitter — has withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement, China is continuing to step forward on climate action. It remains the highest-emitting country by some way, but this week reiterated a commitment to a new climate plan for the period to 2035, covering "all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases", Guterres said. The EU this week noted China's co-operation at Cop 29 — where it was widely viewed as projecting leadership on climate — setting the scene for new climate alliances. While the US government pushes back on clean energy and climate action, support for the energy transition remains strong at sub-national level, from many US state governors, and from the private sector . A poll from three NGOs, including the UK's E3G, this week found that of nearly 1,500 business executives — including in the US — 97pc supported a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The majority of the world has held firm on climate commitments. Heads of state and government of jurisdictions including the EU, several G20 economies and developing nations committed to submitting "ambitious and robust [climate] plans", Guterres said after the meeting. Renewable security Organisations and countries have been careful to underline that different national circumstances will mean that jurisdictions take different approaches to tackling climate change. Although this is a key tenet of the Paris agreement, it also remains a bone of contention in multilateral talks. But the co-hosts of this week's energy security summit, the UK government and energy watchdog the IEA, put the issue front and centre. "Different pathways for different nations should be respected," UK energy minister Ed Miliband told the summit. The almost 60 governments that the UK and IEA hosted will have "different approaches to energy security based on their nation's circumstances and policies", IEA executive director Fatih Birol said. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen reiterated the EU's determination to double down on its energy transition, but also extended a nod to the US for its LNG supply as the bloc pivoted away from imports of Russian gas. But many note that achieving energy security is well aligned with a transition to renewable energy. The UK's path "is a hard-headed approach to the role of low carbon power as the route to energy security", Miliband said, while the cost of renewable power is now the cheapest option for the majority of the world. "The pathway out of climate hell is paved by renewables," Guterres said. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Danish H2 sector criticises country's mandate draft

25/04/25

Danish H2 sector criticises country's mandate draft

London, 25 April (Argus) — Industry group Hydrogen Denmark and some of its member companies have criticised the country's draft to transpose EU hydrogen transport targets into Danish law, and have urged Copenhagen to adjust the rules before they are finalised in May. Companies with hydrogen projects, including Everfuel, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and European Energy, signed an open letter calling for changes, as did fuel producer Crossbridge Energy, which runs the 67,000 b/d Fredericia oil refinery and has an offtake deal for hydrogen from Everfuel. The group said Denmark's targets are unambitious and too low to spur significant demand and help the country realise its goal to export 'green' energy. The draft rules would effectively mean Danish fuel companies supply 1pc renewable hydrogen and derivatives to the transport sector by 2030, which was the minimum goal set by Brussels. The group urged Denmark to aim above the EU target, following member states like Finland that has set a 4pc target . The group also wants Denmark to phase in the quota with incremental increases each year until 2030 starting as early as 2026, to aid first-mover projects and generate experience that ensures Denmark can successfully meet the binding EU target that starts in 2030. The group also warned Denmark must not exclude use of subsidised hydrogen from counting towards transport targets. This would ruin the business case for many hydrogen production projects and could steer Danish producers towards exports and mean Denmark effectively subsidises neighbours like Germany to meet its own mandates, it said. The group's concerns stem from language around 'supported' projects in the draft text, which it understands to refer to state aid. If left unchanged, the rule would affect projects that Denmark has subsidised through its power-to-X tender and Danish projects that may hope to benefit from EU-level funds like the European Hydrogen Bank or the Innovation Fund. The industry group praised Copenhagen's plan to allow renewable hydrogen switching in refineries to count towards the targets. This mechanism, known as the refinery route in some European countries, has been called "elegant" by market participants because it should raise demand for hydrogen in the near term and is a logistically simpler way to cut CO2 than converting refuelling stations and vehicle fleets to use hydrogen. Denmark appears to have allowed the rule without limiting the value of credits, unlike the Netherlands where a 'multiplier' rankled industry participants . Allowing the refinery route will probably please Everfuel and Crossbridge Energy, as the latter had complained Denmark was not supporting its refinery 20MW fuel switching project unlike EU peers. Copenhagen had planned to set the draft mandates into law by 21 May — the deadline set under the EU's revised renewable energy directive (REDIII) — but it remains to be seen if it will press ahead with this timeline given industry has demanded changes. By Aidan Lea Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more