MEPs call for hydrogen filling stations across Europe

Parliament yesterday (3 September) backed Commission proposals to boost the development of hydrogen vehicles, but warned that the strategy would fail without concrete measures to support the establishment of a Europe-wide filling station network for hydrogen powered vehicles.

“Hydrogen powered vehicles are unlikely to be successful on the market unless adequate filling station infrastructure is available in Europe. The Commission should therefore look into suitable measures to support the establishment of a Europe-wide filling station network for hydrogen powered vehicles,” states the report, which calls on the EU to boost its hydrogen research activities under the Seventh Framework Research Programme. 

The report backs Commission proposals to introduce harmonised type-approval criteria for hydrogen cars, saying this will help boost the market for such vehicles, while also averting the safety and environmental risks that could occur if each member state starts drawing up its own approval system. According to a Commission study, simplified procedures could help vehicle manufacturers save up to €124 million in approval costs for the period 2017-2025. 

MEPs noted that the Commission should establish similar criteria for motorcycles before the end of 2009 as these smaller vehicles could become “early adopters of hydrogen as a fuel” thanks to the lower levels of investment required and the lesser technical challenge they represent. 

Alongside biofuels and electric power, hydrogen is one of the EU’s main hopes for replacing oil in the transport industry in future, reducing air pollution and cutting transport-related CO2 emissions. 

But critical voices cast doubt on the environmental value of hydrogen. As an energy vector but not an energy source, it is by definition only as clean as the energy it uses. What’s more, even its proponents concede that the technology is still at a very early stage and many years away from launch. 

A Bruges College of Europe Economic Policy briefing published yesterday highlights the failure of EU policy to create “a strong push factor” for hydrogen development, asserting that while EU regulatory policies have had “a weak but positive impact,” spending policies have shown “inconsistencies”. 

The draft directive approved yesterday thus aims to contribute to accelerating hydrogen’s development so as to give it a chance next to other emerging technologies. “Sales of electric cars and other alternatives have soared but hydrogen cars are only on the cusp of large scale production,” commented Socialist MEP Arlene McCarthy. Parliament’s report stresses: “EU-wide uniform type-approval regulations are the minimum requirement if hydrogen-powered vehicles are to reach the point of marketability at all.” 

Some critics have also questioned whether hydrogen is safe enough to be used on the roads, but McCarthy said a mandatory labelling scheme, introduced by the Parliament, would increase safety by helping rescue teams identify the car’s hydrogen source. 

“Hydrogen powered cars are just as safe as those running on petrol, but in the event of an accident emergency crews need to know what they are dealing with. That’s why this law takes a precautionary stance and ensures that vehicles will be readily identifiable by the emergency services,” she said. 

Parliament’s report also says that, in the future, hydrogen powered vehicles should be run on pure hydrogen produced from renewable energies. “Use of mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas/biomethane to propel vehicles must be no more than a transitional technology,” they insist. “The idea of a hydrogen economy with a cycle completely free of harmful substances is fascinating,” said EPP-ED rapporteur Anja Weisgerber. 

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