The Renewable Hydrogen Coalition’s Policy Charter is aiming to lay the foundations to kickstart a renewable-based hydrogen economy in Europe.
Unveiled in early March, it seeks to support the mainstreaming of renewable hydrogen in Europe and will help deliver on the Green Deal goals, drive a green recovery and place the European renewable hydrogen value chain at the centre of the continent’s growth and jobs strategy for the long-term. To realise this, it calls for lead markets for renewable hydrogen to be established, action to scale up the renewable hydrogen industry and infrastructure, and the development of an enabling EU regulatory framework for renewable hydrogen.
On establishing lead markets, it set out how building a renewable hydrogen economy requires a full value chain approach with a focus on sectors likely to benefit the most from hydrogen. Therefore, renewable-based electrification should prioritised and accelerated where possible, while priority sectors that will form the bulk of the EU’s future demand for renewable hydrogen and derived e-fuels should be identified. Prime focus should be on existing hydrogen users and hard-to-electrify sectors.
Elsewhere, as technology matures, rapid scale-up, further standardisation and deployment is a necessity to cut costs and ensure the viability of renewable hydrogen. It called for deployment of additional renewable generation across Europe to be accelerated and massively increased; the introduction of support mechanisms that enable competitive uptake of renewable hydrogen and derived e-fuels in hard-to-electrify sectors; and intensified support for research, innovation and demonstration to develop the next generation of renewable hydrogen technologies.
An enabling EU regulatory framework, meanwhile, will be key to set the right market signals, encourage private investment and stimulate supply and demand for renewable hydrogen. This, according to the Charter, would establish a clear, consistent and transparent EU-wide definition for renewable hydrogen, other renewable and non-renewable gases and liquids, while ensuring a level playing field between energy carriers – notably through taxation rules.
