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EPP and allies urge weaker low-carbon hydrogen rules
The EU must ease its criteria for the production of low-carbon hydrogen to facilitate production using nuclear power and natural gas, conservative and right-wing lawmakers have demanded in a letter to European Commission top brass.
A 'restrictive and unworkable Delegated Act would jeopardise Europe's industrial resilience, climate targets, and strategic autonomy,' runs letter signed by 55 lawmakers, mostly from the European People's Party and right-wing ECR group.
The letter to Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, vice-president Teresa Ribera and energy chief Dan Jørgensen, dated 1 July, was also signed by a couple of liberal Renew group lawmakers.
It was also endorsed by the the German Social Democrat Jens Geier, who steered the primary legislation through parliament.
How low is low?
Hydrogen is deemed 'low-carbon' when process emissions are at least 70% lower than standard production from natural gas – for example by coupling it with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, or using nuclear power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Pointing to 'difficult market conditions' faced by many industries that are required to decarbonise, the lawmakers employed many of the same arguments used by the fossil fuel industry and allied sectors in their intensifying lobbying campaign.
They urged the Commission to lower the default emission values it attaches to natural gas, which make it more difficult to meet the 70% reduction threshold, and allow hydrogen producers to use certified upstream emission values for the gas they use.
'A surcharge must not apply, as compliance with the Methane Regulation cannot be enforced via this Delegated Act,' the lawmakers said in reference to a penalty applied when upstream emission data are lacking.
The law should use 'country- or region-specific default values', the MEPs wrote. 'The suggested regulatory framework should not endanger imports of low-carbon hydrogen and hydrogen carriers from key international partners.'
Moreover, they argued, the Commission should allow low-carbon fuels to be produced with all kinds of zero- and low-emission electricity delivered under long-term power purchase agreements – meaning nuclear as well as renewable power.
The lawmakers also called on the EU executive to ditch complicated rules on matching power production in real time with the electrolysers used to produce hydrogen,
They also want to see a 'grandfathering clause' that would apply only already existing regulations to hydrogen projects where the final investment decision is taken before 5 August 2028.
'The absence of transitional arrangements could disrupt several flagship low-carbon fuels initiatives currently under development,' the lawmakers argued.
letter-lcda EURACTIV
*Nikolaus J. Kurmayer contributed reporting.
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