RENEWABLES AND HYDROGEN
Although renewable energies have proved more resilient than fossil fuels during the COVID-19 crisis, supply chains have been seriously affected, with solar and wind markets expected to shrink by 20-33% this year, the Commission says.
The recovery plan proposes to focus on renewables and hydrogen in parallel, saying both are needed for deep decarbonisation.
Without sustained growth of the renewables market, there is no future for clean hydrogen in Europe while sustainable hydrogen technology has a critical role to play in decarbonising the economy, the document says.
On renewables, key aspects of the recovery plan include:
An EU tendering scheme for renewable electricity projects worth 15 GW over 2 years, with a total capital investment of 25 billion.
Support for national schemes with 10 billion over two years, using co-financing by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
For clean hydrogen, the Commission intends to:
Double the amount of funding for clean hydrogen research and innovation, currently standing at 650 million.
A further 10 billion over the next ten years involving co-financing to substantially reduce risks of large and complex projects such as hydrogen.
In order to scale up production of clean hydrogen, the Commission also intends to launch a 1 Million ton of clean hydrogen commitment.
That will include a carbon contracts for difference (CCfD) pilot scheme aimed at supporting production of clean hydrogen. The scheme is similar to tendering systems for renewable power, and could pay the difference between CO2 strike price and actual CO2 price in the ETS in order to bridge the cost gap between conventional and decarbonised hydrogen.
A fund worth 10 billion per year, administered by the EIB, would also be set up to grant loans for hydrogen infrastructure. |
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