Spain, Germany and five other countries are suing Brussels for “green” bottling of nuclear-derived hydrogen.

There are already movements against the European Commission’s proposal to classify nuclear-derived hydrogen as “green”. Spain, Germany and five other countries have sent a letter to the Community government, where they complain about the proposal, which aims to meet France’s demands. “The production and use of low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon fuels should not be encouraged by the directive on the promotion of renewable energy,” they note in the letter, which is also signed by the energy ministers of Portugal and Ireland. Luxembourg, Austria and Denmark.

“Our position has not changed,” they warn Brussels in a text where they claim that including low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon fuels in the 2030 targets will “reduce ambition and slow down the development of renewables”. “This decade is crucial for limiting the global increase in temperature and making the necessary steps towards climate neutrality,” the ministers added about the goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In addition to advocating for a competitive cost and timeline for renewable energy, they argue that “counting on low-carbon energy for renewable energy targets will reduce climate efforts and slow investment in additional renewable capacity.” Similarly, they argue that promoting a framework to accelerate the development of clean energy sources in member states is detrimental when it comes to determining the energy mix.

Energy officials deny that nuclear-derived hydrogen is included in the Renewable Energy Directive as green. “It does not prevent or prohibit member states from using other hydrogen fuels and low carbon content,” the letter said about the regulation. They explain that they intend to move towards decarbonization through renewable energy. “We believe that this is the only safe and sustainable way to climate neutrality and energy security,” they said.

“We are ready to consider additional decarbonisation pathways through low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon fuels in other regulatory frameworks such as the gas package.” It is a framework in which they believe that the answer should be given to member states in which “low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon fuels can play a role”.

The community government in mid-February published the conditions under which hydrogen or its products can be considered a “non-biological renewable fuel”. It did this through two delegated acts, which must be approved by the European Council and the European Parliament within two months. Government sources explain that during this period, the parliament or the council can call on the community authorities to make changes. And that’s what makes the letter signed by seven states, including Vice President Teresa Ribera.

Brussels wants the EU to consider renewable hydrogen, which is 90% clean energy and low-carbon, with less than 70% of greenhouse gases coming from non-renewable sources, rather than all-natural gas. life cycle The EU has already described nuclear power and gas as “green” in another delegated act passed last year in the European Parliament thanks to support from the right and far-right.

“In principle, liquid and gaseous fuels of non-biological origin produced with electricity are considered renewable only when the electricity is renewable,” noted the commission, which, however, opened the door to hydrogen from other sources that have. Low emissions. And that’s where the path to nuclear power ends, as France or Sweden claim.

The proposal excludes from the commitment to increase the share of renewable energy in regions “with an electricity emission intensity of less than 18 gCO2eq/MJ”, in a move geared towards nuclear technology. “In such cases, it is reasonable to consider grid-derived electricity as fully renewable as long as the renewable properties of the electricity are demonstrated” through long-term purchase and sale agreements (known in the industry as PPAs).

Source: El Diario

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