Industry chews EU renewable hydrogen definition

The EU has received more than 300 reactions from industry and other stakeholders to its draft legal definition of renewable hydrogen, but the legislative reality means major changes are unlikely.

Now comments are in the European Commission can finalise the legislation, after giving the European Parliament and EU member states a statutory period of two months to object. Neither have little room for to make detailed alterations, with either a majority in the parliament's plenary or an elevated majority of member states required to reject the commission's proposal outright.

The draft criteria, set out by the commission in May, generally require renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) and renewable hydrogen from grid-connected electrolysers to prove average renewable electricity shares in the concerned electricity bidding zones exceeding 90pc in the previous calendar year. Hydrogen production hours should also be no greater than a maximum number of hours related to the share of renewables in the bidding zone. And the commission wants the installation generating renewable power entering into operation less than 36 months before the electrolyser producing the renewable hydrogen.

Privately, industry sees the criteria as the best that could politically be achieved. But that did not prevent many of the 335 respondents restating their wishes. Hydrogen Europe called for the commission's "unnecessarily high" 90pc threshold to be lowered to 70pc and for the phase-in period for criteria to be extended to 2030 to enable uptake of more RFNBO projects at more competitive cost.

Hydrogen Europe wants the commission to change its stance on insisting hydrogen producers prove renewable hydrogen production takes place in the same calendar hour as the renewable electricity production, or that locally stored renewable electricity was used during such periods, to a monthly resolution.

A wide range of firms indicated the commission's 'green' electricity criteria would put the brakes on green hydrogen — made from renewable electricity — and make it difficult to realise hydrogen projects in general. Only allowing power from newly built, unsubsidised wind and solar plants for green hydrogen production after 2027 will make large-scale green hydrogen production impossible until after 2030, some said.

Others called more extensive 'grandfathering' to allow first electrolysers in operation beyond the commission's envisaged 2027, to benefit from the phase-in benefits for their lifetime. German renewables producer Sunfire specifically said the commission's criteria "strongly" favour certain geographies for renewable hydrogen production, mainly in Europe's "outermost" regions, but make it more difficult closer to centers of industrial demand.

The Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, chaired by Iberdrola chief executive Ignacio Galan, said it has "reservations" on the excessive levels of complexity and uncertainty placed on project developers. Proposed criteria can hamper security of electricity supply, impact hydrogen volumes and increase cost of fuels, the coalition said.

By Dafydd ab Iago