EU energy plan could hold back hydrogen production at scale – RWE

German utility firm RWE thinks certain aspects of the recently announced EU plan to replace Russian oil and gas are flawed and could underperform towards upcoming hydrogen production targets.

PHOTO: RWE’s onshore wind farm El Algodon Alto in the US. RWE

Last week, European Commission (EC) announced REPowerEU, a plan to end the EU’s dependency on Russian energy imports. Part of the plan is to replace coal, oil and natural gas with increased uptake of green hydrogen, biogas and biomethane.

The EU has published ‘delegated acts’ to define the production criteria for green hydrogen. RWE considers the acts could derail its aim of reaching a 10 million mt/year green hydrogen production target for 2030.

Under one of the delegated acts, hydrogen can only be classified as green hydrogen if it is completely produced using renewable energy.

The producer would have to prove that hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources connecting hydrogen plants to the grid.

RWE says renewable electricity sources such as wind and solar are unable to power the electrolysis process around the clock. This measure could mean that electrolysers will be idle for sustained periods and cap production.  

RWE claims these complex operational requirements could make hydrogen more expensive and hold back its uptake.

The EC will gather feedback from stakeholders on the delegated acts until 17 June.