Hydrogen Archives

Portugal's Galp Energia plans to install a 100-megawatt electrolyser to power its refinery in Sines with green hydrogen by 2025, a project which could be expanded to up to 1,000 MW and be worth €1 billion, Chief Executive Andy Brown said on Monday (14 June).

The EU has historically been a major energy importer, with a majority of its oil and gas coming from Russia or the Middle East. Now, as Europe decarbonises its industry, some countries fear it could increasingly become dependent on imported hydrogen.

European Union energy ministers on Friday (11 June) agreed to prolong EU support for some cross-border natural gas projects, despite a push from 11 countries and the European Commission who said such funding should end to comply with climate change goals.

Most airliners will rely on traditional jet engines until at least 2050, with the introduction of zero-emissions hydrogen limited to regional and short-range planes, Airbus told European Union officials in a briefing released on Thursday (10 June).

One thing COVID-19 has made clear is that Europe needs to be more self-sufficient. However, policymakers are looking to Africa and even further abroad for their renewable hydrogen, despite the potential pitfalls of such a plan, writes Luc Grare.

The way clean or low-carbon hydrogen is defined under the EU’s green finance taxonomy could have been more ambitious, with a higher emission saving threshold excluding all unabated fossil fuels from hydrogen manufacturing, says Jorgo Chatzimarkakis.

The price of clean hydrogen can be cut drastically by mid-century if the EU creates a dedicated market structure to develop the fuel, according to the industry. Environmental groups, meanwhile, are sceptical about the emergence of a hydrogen economy.

A recent decision by the Belgian energy regulator offers an unexpected analogy with the way rugby rules were rewritten to favour try scoring and greater entertainment for the fans, write Dominic Scott and Bram Claeys.

Germany said on Friday (28 May) it would invest €8 billion in 62 large-scale hydrogen projects, including electrolysers and pipeline infrastructure, as part of the country's bid to decarbonise its industry and become a world leader in the pioneering fuel technology.

An upcoming overhaul of European Union renewable energy regulations will include measures targeting transport and industry, where the use of emissions-free energy sources are lagging, the bloc's energy policy chief said on Wednesday (26 May).

Spain has the “best conditions” to become Europe’s green hydrogen hub, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.

A motion on the EU’s hydrogen strategy won support from the European Parliament on Wednesday (19 May), backing the use of “low-carbon hydrogen” made from fossil gas as a bridge towards 100% renewable production.

While fossil gas is often seen as a transition fuel towards a fully decarbonised energy mix, GE Gas Power sees low-carbon gas as “a destination technology” with a potential to convert power plants to run 100% on clean hydrogen by 2030.

Using hydrogen-based fuels for cars and home heating risks locking in a dependency on fossil fuels and failing to tackle the climate crisis, according to a new analysis. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

Europe must not allow the push to tackle energy poverty to be derailed by the mirage of heating homes with hydrogen. Instead, the EU should focus on energy efficiency and financial support for poor households to switch to clean energy, write Jan Rosenow and Louise Sunderland.

Gas network operators from 11 countries have joined the European hydrogen backbone initiative, presenting an updated vision for a pure hydrogen network of nearly 40,000 kilometres by 2040.

Europe needs a massive increase in renewable electricity to meet its 2030 decarbonisation targets, including a ramp up of clean hydrogen production from electrolysers, a senior EU official has said.

European energy ministers on Wednesday highlighted the need to create a stable regulatory framework for hydrogen in the European Union, capable of attracting private investors into a competitive and predictable market.

Europe should support high sustainability standards for clean hydrogen in its green finance rules, argue a group of 24 renewable energy companies and industry bodies in a letter sent to the European Commission on Wednesday (31 March).

A group of 88 lawmakers in the European Parliament have joined environmental NGOs and the renewable energy industry to demand the exclusion of low-carbon fossil fuels from the upcoming revision of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

It's seen as the missing link in the race for carbon-neutrality: "green" hydrogen produced without fossil fuel energy is a popular buzzword in competing press releases and investment plans across the globe.

Europe has set a clear goal for full decarbonisation by 2050, with renewables-based electricity set to become the dominant energy carrier, and that means fossil gas will have “only a marginal role” in the long run, EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said on Thursday (25 March). 

The European Parliament's industry and energy committee passed a resolution on Monday (22 March) supporting hydrogen produced from "low-carbon" energy sources, including fossil gas with carbon sequestration. The motion stopped short, however, of mentioning nuclear as a potential energy source.

Offshore wind could not only propel the Baltics to the forefront of the energy transition, but also to the ranks of clean energy exporters, writes Lukas Trakimavičius.