Territories
A State-of-the Art of European Hydrogen Policies for Local Alpine Green Hydrogen Ecosystems
In July 2020, the European Commission proposed a strategy that aims to accelerate the development of green hydrogen from renewables so that it becomes part of the region’s energy supply by 2050: the EU Hydrogen Strategy, a comprehensive plan designed to accelerate the development and deployment of hydrogen technologies across Europe.
In the AMETHYST project an analysis over several countries in the Alpine Space has gathered useful insights on national strategies, as well as interviews and study visits.
The EU Hydrogen Strategy aims to leverage hydrogen as a clean energy carrier to achieve the EU’s climate neutrality goals by 2050. Key contents of the strategy include the five fields of production, infrastructure, demand, R&D, and cooperation.
The strategy sets the strategic goal of installing at least 40 GW of electrolyzers for renewable hydrogen and producing up to 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen in the EU by 2030.
Action/Key milestone
The transition to cleaner energy forms is a crucial prerequisite for climate neutrality.
Within this context, a series of regulatory interventions by the European Union, contained in the Fit for 55 package, are developed to increase the share of renewable energy by 2030, among which hydrogen will play an important role. The European Climate Law makes the EU’s goal of reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 a legal obligation. To achieve this target, EU countries are developing new legislation packages. The legislation relevant to hydrogen includes legislative policies such as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the Effort Sharing Regulation, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Energy Efficiency Directive, and others.
In May 2022, in response to the energy market disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Commission introduced the REPowerEU Plan. This plan aims to quickly reduce the EU’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels and proposes several amendments to increase the ambition of various initiatives under the Fit for 55 package. In the hydrogen sector section of the REPowerEU Plan, the Commission sets a key target to raise the 2023 renewables goal from 40% to 45% and to achieve 10 million tonnes of domestic hydrogen production and 10 million tonnes of imported renewable hydrogen by 2030. This target effectively doubles that set by the European hydrogen strategy for 2030.
The adoption of RED III in November 2023 by the European Parliament and the Council reiterates the centrality of hydrogen as a lever to enable the energy transition towards climate neutrality.
The overarching strategy: The European Green Deal.
This policy roadmap is intended to serve as the EU’s new growth strategy. It places a significantly stronger emphasis on the decarbonization aspect of the Energy Union, aiming for a resource-efficient and competitive economy with no net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. Additionally, it seeks to protect, conserve, and enhance the EU’s natural capital, and safeguard citizens’ health and well-being from environment-related risks and impacts.
The objectives of the Green Deal are currently being implemented through various legislative and non-legislative initiatives, reflecting the increased level of ambition. Notably, the European Climate Law, adopted by EU institutions in June 2021, enshrines the binding target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (referred to as ‘carbon neutrality’ or ‘climate neutrality’) and a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 for the EU.
The hydrogen strategies available exist at various levels.
Beyond the strategic outline at EU level, various countries have adopted, or are in the process of elaborating and adopting national strategies. Below the national level, some regions have their own regional strategies for supporting the growth of hydrogen ecosystems and value chains.
Regional strategies frequently coincide with European hydrogen valleys.
These are geographical areas or regions within the European Union that are strategically developed to integrate and showcase hydrogen technologies across various sectors, such as industry, transportation, and energy.
Useful links and contents:
EU Green Deal: a package of policy initiatives, which aims to set the EU on the path to a green transition.
Last information update: September 2024.