Europe : hydrogen from nuclear has been recognised as renewable

On Friday, the European Commission published a Delegated Act that authorises, under certain conditions, the use of low-carbon electricity to produce hydrogen labelled as “renewable.” This is a victory for Paris, who was opposed by several countries including Germany.

The document can be consulted on the Euractiv website, which revealed the information this weekend. “For months, French politicians have lobbied Brussels to hammer the point that green hydrogen should also come from low-carbon nuclear electricity, not just renewables.” says the website specialising in European news.

According to the new text, countries with a low-carbon electricity mix (France and Sweden in this case) will be exempt from the additionality rule*, provided that they invest in new renewable energy production capacity for “an amount that is at least equivalent to the amount of electricity that is claimed as fully renewable.”

In addition, France won on another point: imports : “all green criteria imposed on European producers will apply equally to hydrogen imported from abroad, another win for France which fought against pressure from Berlin to impose looser criteria on imported hydrogen.”

*To prevent electrolysers from driving up electricity demand and cannibalising renewable electricity for mainstream use, the European Commission has been working on a set of rules to ensure that green hydrogen uses only “additional” renewable electricity sources.

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King