EU must offer more support for green hydrogen â industry
Without necessary measures, technical expertise and manufacturing could be lost to competing regions, firms say
The EU and national European governments must take more near-term measures to stimulate a market in hydrogen, according to a panel of industry experts organised by industry group the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition.
A hydrogen market will inevitably develop in the EU, but without the necessary measures it might be too late to meet climate goals and establish the region as a leader in the associated technologies, according to Sanni Kunnas, senior manager for government relations at German chemical company Wacker Chemie.
Iberdrola partners with ceramic tile maker Porcelanosa on green hydrogen initiative
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The proposed project would see an electrolyser installed at Porcelanosa’s Spanish factory, powered by a solar PV system. Image: Iberdrola.
Spanish energy group Iberdrola is hoping to launch a solar-plus-hydrogen power project to decarbonise ceramic tile maker Porcelanosa’s production process.
It is hoped the project, called GREENH2SKER, will replace “up to half of the natural gas used” in Porcelanosa’s factory in Villarreal in eastern Spain with green hydrogen by installing an electrolyser powered by a solar PV system.
The new energy system will also include a “high-efficiency” structure to make use of excess waste heat and heat from the production lines.
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EU Taxonomy is a key tool to accelerate the energy transition and allow Europe to meet its climate neutrality goal by 2050 with the delegated act set to establish a classification of sustainable investments. Weakening the EU taxonomy criteria comes down to undermining the Green deal itself, Francois Paquet, impact director at Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, said April 2 in an email.
Delegated acts are technical with little opportunity for EU members states to have a real say, which explains why such a technical file has become so strategic and political, Paquet said.
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).
The letter, an initiative of the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, comes as the Commission finalises criteria for hydrogen production as part of implementing rules to be tabled this month under the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy.
Technologies that meet the thresholds laid out in the rulebook will qualify for a green investment label under the taxonomy.
And, according to the letter, only renewable hydrogen should be awarded the prized green label – not the other types made from nuclear or fossil gas with carbon capture technology.
st April, making Tacoma, Washington the perfect place for the production of green hydrogen.
The new, lower cost tariff – the nation’s first pilot rate – is designed for industrial producers of electrofuels, such as hydrolysers that produce green energy, to take Tacoma Power’s carbon-free electricity and produce hydrogen or hydrogen-rich compounds that can be used to store electricity for later use.
With the approval of this rate in December 2020, Tacoma Power became the first consumer-owned utility in the nation to offer a rate specifically designed to capture the operational and social benefit of this technology.
Under the rate schedule terms, Tacoma Power said it has the option to curtail electricity consumption during times of high market prices or other electrical system need, making it much more affordable to provide power to all customers.