In its policy position statement, the Coalition said, the amendment to the directive would allow member states to take into account low-carbon fuels to meet renewable hydrogen targets for industry and transport, in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
Under the amendment, the RED would allow low-carbon hydrogen – produced using nuclear power (pink hydrogen) or using natural gas combined with carbon capture and (blue hydrogen) – to meet criteria for its targets, in addition to ‘renewable’ or ‘green’ hydrogen, powered by renewable energy without the use of fossil fuels.
Read more: Shades of hydrogen: Understanding grey, blue, and green
The adopted texts in the revisions to the RED, stated, “As referred to in the EU Hydrogen Strategy, low-carbon fuels and low carbon hydrogen can play a role in the energy transition to reduce emissions of existing fuels.
Read more: EU unveils hydrogen strategy
“As low-carbon fuels and low-carbon hydrogen are not renewable fuels, the revision of Directive on gas and hydrogen should define the complementary provisions on the role of low-carbon fuels and low-carbon hydrogen to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.”
The Renewable Hydrogen Coalition has said the amendment ‘undermines’ the integrity, credibility and market trust in EU legislation promoting renewable energy. The statement said, “It [the amendment] removes a crucial market signal to drive investment in renewable hydrogen.”
The statement also read, “Nuclear and fossil-based hydrogen are non-renewable hydrogen and should not be treated as such.” Concluding, “The place for low-carbon hydrogen is in the Gas Package, while the RED and its targets are for renewable fuels and renewable hydrogen.”
Closing the statement, the Coalition representing an array of European players in the hydrogen market, said, “Blue is not green. It’s that simple.”
The ‘rainbow debate’
The so-called rainbow debate has burned away across the hydrogen industry for many years. With some corners saying green hydrogen is the route that must be pursued to truly achieve climate goals, while others have placed their bets on blue hydrogen leading the charge.
In October (2022), the American Petroleum Institute (API) said that low-carbon hydrogen produced from natural gas with carbon capture could eliminate 180 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year.
Read more: Blue hydrogen could deliver significant US emissions reductions, says American Petroleum Institute
The study commissioned by API, conducted by ICF, analysis is said to have found that uniform incentives for producing hydrogen from natural gas, electricity and other energy sources are critical to meeting the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) goal of 50 million tonnes of clean hydrogen production by 2050.
Alternatively, a 2021 report, funded by the Park Foundation and Cornell University, said that blue hydrogen could produce 20% more GHGs than burning natural gas or coal for heat, stressing the need to produce green hydrogen.
Using data collected from two blue hydrogen production facilities, the Energy Science & Engineering report said it had discovered that blue hydrogen’s methane emissions are the same as using grey hydrogen.
Speaking at the Hydrogen Transition Summit at COP27 in November (2022), Dr. Samir Sehan, Chief Operating Officer of Air Products said there will “definitely” be room for blue and green hydrogen in the energy transition.
Read more: Demand for blue and green hydrogen in the energy transition, says Air Products COO
“Unfortunately there is no switch that we can deflect from grey to green,” said Sehan. “Hydrogen production paired with carbon capture and sequestration is a natural step, a bridge that will enable us to produce low-carbon hydrogen, at the same time with the scale of the energy transition, and growing energy demand, there is definitely room for blue and green.”
Throughout 2022, numerous areas of the industry have been calling for less focus on the ‘colour’ of hydrogen, and a new system of carbon intensity pricing should be used to evaluate hydrogen’s renewable criteria.
Speaking on an exclusive H2 View webinar, Paul Bogers, Vice-President of Hydrogen at Shell, suggested that moving away from the “rainbow debate” of green and blue hydrogen to setting carbon pricing would act an enabler for an active market.
Read more: ‘Pragmatism not perfection,’ says Shell’s Vice-President of Hydrogen on a H2 View webinar