Demand for green hydrogen to skyrocket after EU nations approve mandatory usage targets in industry and transport

Member states agree that 42% of hydrogen used by industry and 1% of transport fuel must be renewable by 2030

9 October 2023 10:00 GMT UPDATED  10 October 2023 8:28 GMT

By Leigh Collins

Demand for green hydrogen will skyrocket in the EU after the 27 member states finally approved the long-gestating Renewable Energy Directive, which includes mandatory usage targets for renewable H₂ and its derivatives (known in EU parlance as Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin, or RFNBOs).

This means that 42% of the hydrogen used by industry must be green by 2030 (reaching 60% in 2035), with 1% of all fuel used in transport to be RFNBOs by 2030.

And in a separate regulation, known as the ReFuelEU Aviation directive, which was also signed off today by the Council of EU ministers, 1.2% of all aviation fuel must be synthetic fuel derived from green H₂ by 2030 (see separate story here).

With about 9.7 million tonnes of grey hydrogen (derived from unabated natural gas) currently consumed in the EU each year — mainly in fertiliser and chemical production and oil refining — the new directive instantly creates demand for about four million tonnes of green H₂ in industry alone by the end of the decade.

There are two get-out clauses that allow member states to reduce the contribution of RFNBOs in industry by 20 percentage points: if their “national contribution to the binding overall EU target meets their expected contribution”, or if “the share of hydrogen from fossil fuels consumed in the member state is not more 23% in 2030 and 20% in 2035”.

This opens the door for France to produce much of their H₂ from nuclear energy.

According to Hydrogen Europe, 1% of all transport fuels would statistically equate to about one million tonnes of RFNBOs. However, the so-called “multipliers” contained in the Renewable Energy Directive allow every 1MJ of RFNBOs used in the aviation and shipping sectors to be counted as 1.5MJ towards the target.

The trade association therefore believes that the actual amount of RFNBOs required to meet the 1% transport fuel rule would actually be about 360,000 tonnes.

Read the full article here:  Demand for green hydrogen to skyrocket after EU nations approve mandatory usage targets in industry and transport | Hydrogen news and intelligence (hydrogeninsight.com)