Insight into REPowerEU and the energy challenge

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

ASIDE FROM seeking to diversify gas supplies, the initiative aims to speed up the adoption of renewable gases, including hydrogen. Given that the demand for oil is expected to reach its height in the next five years, the EC deserves praise for its decisive action.

Bold steps like this mean we might just be on the right path with this exciting molecule. 

The opportunity for hydrogen

During her speech to announce REPowerEU, EC President Ursula von der Leyen underlined the opportunity that now exists for hydrogen: “The quicker we switch to renewables and hydrogen, combined with more energy efficiency, the quicker we will be truly independent and master our energy system.”

The Commission’s announcement also stressed that “larger volumes of… renewable hydrogen production and imports” would increase the resilience of the EU’s energy system.

More recently, von der Leyen unveiled a European Hydrogen Bank which will invest €3 billion into the future hydrogen market. The EU has also set a 2030 target of producing ten million tonnes of renewable hydrogen each year in addition to importing the same amount.

Rolling out refuelling infrastructure

The REPowerEU initiative is supported by projects currently underway in Europe’s transport sector. Earlier this year, the EC’s ‘Fit for 55’ package of legislative proposals updated the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation. It is now recommended that there should be a refuelling station every 100 km for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and light commercial vehicles along key networks such as the Trans European (TEN-T) Network. The aim is to have this infrastructure in place by 2030. 

Switzerland is aiming to take advantage of this initiative by trialling hydrogen fuel cell Xcient HGVs from Hyundai with a range of 400 km for deliveries for supermarkets and logistics operators. Hyundai plans to create an entire value chain comprising green hydrogen production, the installation of hydrogen refuelling stations, and vehicle service and maintenance.

Green Hydrogen is the end goal for renewable energies, offering an end to end green solution will be formidable in the race to reduce climate impact. Green Hydrogen production (whilst still very costly) is critical for the industry, especially as governments target net zero as soon as 2050. To serve such a large demand of green hydrogen, requires the growth in renewables to go hand in hand.  That means investment in both the capability to generate hydrogen and the renewable industry are acutely related. 

EC’s three-phase Hydrogen Strategy

Launched in July 2020, the EC’s three-stage Hydrogen Strategy aims to achieve net zero in Europe by encouraging the development of renewable hydrogen. A total of €65 will invested in hydrogen transport, distribution and storage, plus hydrogen refuelling stations, by 2030. The EC predicts that clean hydrogen investment will reach €430 billion by the same date.

The current Phase 1 (2020-2024) concentrates on infrastructure planning, installing a minimum of 6 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers in the EU and producing up to 1 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen. This phase will concentrate on decarbonising existing hydrogen production and increasing hydrogen consumption in industrial processes and heavy-duty transport. Hydrogen refuelling stations will also be needed to encourage the development of hydrogen fuel cell trucks and buses.

Phase 2 (2025-2030) will look to create hydrogen valleys and cross-border logistical infrastructure. This period will see the renewable hydrogen production target increased to up to 10 million tonnes while hydrogen infrastructure will be produced to support industrial and transport applications, and supply heat to homes and offices. This phase will also require planning for a pan-European transportation grid which will service a network of hydrogen refuelling stations as it is developed.

Finally, Phase 3 (2031-2050) will deliver an EU-wide infrastructure network as renewable hydrogen technology becomes mature and is applied to all hard-to-decarbonise sectors.

The Hydrogen Strategy also reveals that the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy and the Connecting Europe Facility for Transport will provide funding for dedicated hydrogen infrastructure, such as refuelling stations.

The European Parliament’s Transport Committee recently brought forward the deadline by three years by which hydrogen refuelling infrastructure should be in place on the core sections of the TEN-T Network. It is now targeting a timeline of 2027.

As Europe continues to look for alternatives to Russian oil and gas, the opportunity for the hydrogen industry to position itself as a credible source of energy for mobility is only becoming more pronounced.

Jake Martin, business development manager, Haskel Hydrogen Systems Group

For more information, visit www.haskel.com