12 European hydrogen associations, including France Hydrogène, are calling on Ursula von der Leyen to restrict the next European Hydrogen Bank auction, which is worth €1.2 billion, to EU producers.
The news was made public only today, but the letter in question dates from 5 July. While the signing parties* (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and several Eastern European countries) welcome the European Commission’s renewed ambition to develop hydrogen through electrolysis, with confirmation of a 2nd round of auctions for the European Hydrogen Bank, they are calling for a European priority. The letter reiterates the importance of aligning the objectives of the Green Deal, and in particular the Net Zero Industry Act, by giving priority to subsidising projects involving electrolysers manufactured in the European Union.
Building sustainable competitiveness in Europe
The letter states that “it is more than ever crucial to demonstrate that decarbonization and reindustrialisation can go hand-in-hand to bring high social value within the EU. gigafactories must find initial markets for achieving economies of scale and building a sustainable competitiveness in the fierce global competition”.
The associations are calling for a pre-qualification criterion of resilience, as suggested by Hydrogen Europe, but supplemented by criteria on social aspects, cybersecurity, as well as safety and performance standards. “It is more crucial than ever to demonstrate that decarbonisation and reindustrialisation can go hand in hand to create great social value within the EU,” stresses France Hydrogène in a LinkedIn post .
*France Hydrogen, H2DWV (Germany), H2IT (Italy), Hungarian Hydrogen Technology Association (Hungary), Brintbranchen Hydrogen Denmark (Denmark), NL Hydrogen (Netherlands), H2 Waterstofnet (Netherlands), EnergyIn (Portugal), Hytep (Czech Republic), H2 Romania (Romania), NVAS (Slovakia), Ukrainian Hydrogen Association (Ukraine), Hydrogen Poland.
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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili
