Nuclear-derived hydrogen included in EU green hydrogen definition
The European Commission (EC) has published detailed rules to define renewable hydrogen, under which low-carbon hydrogen produced with nuclear power qualifies as green hydrogen.
PHOTO: EU flags outside the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium. Getty Images
The French government has lobbied heavily for nuclear-derived hydrogen, arguing that green hydrogen should also be produced using nuclear electricity, rather than just using renewable electricity.
If this definition passes into law, France and other EU members with nuclear energy reactors would be free to use surplus nuclear electricity to produce hydrogen all the while classifying their hydrogen as renewable, Norwegian environmental non-profit Bellona said. This could potentially hold back countries from developing renewable electricity production capacity, it added.
The EC’s new green hydrogen definition will surely drive investments into green hydrogen production, according to environmental organisation Transport & Environment (T&E). But T&E is simultaneously surprised that the EC has decided to define nuclear-derived hydrogen as renewable.
The EC’s additionality principle for hydrogen will enter into force from January 2028. Under which, hydrogen projects will need to add more renewable electricity into the grid that meets their production demand.
The additionality principle will help prevent renewable electricity from being depleted from the grid, T&E argues.
The EC’s proposed hydrogen definition will now be submitted to European Parliament and the European Council for approval. These EU bodies will have two months to either accept or reject it.
By Nithin Chandran
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