EU hydrogen strategy: 6 GW of electrolysers by 2024 and 40 GW by 2030

On 8 July 2020 the European Commission presented the hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe (COM(2020) 301). The document assumes the development of hydrogen in three phases, with a target of 6 GW of electrolysers by 2024 and at least 40 GW by 2030. It is the first EU plan that treats hydrogen as a permanent element of the energy system, including in combination with biogas.

Three phases of development

The strategy sets the following stages:

Priority is given to renewable hydrogen, produced mainly by water electrolysis using energy from renewable energy sources (RES). The strategy also contains a broader definition: renewable hydrogen can also be produced by biogas reforming or biochemical conversion of biomass, provided sustainability criteria are met. Alongside it, low-carbon hydrogen is distinguished, produced from fossil fuels with CO₂ capture, which is to play a transitional role.

The European Clean Hydrogen Alliance

Together with the strategy, an alliance was launched bringing together industry, public institutions and civil society. Its task is to identify investment projects and build a portfolio of undertakings that can be financed from EU and private funds.

Significance for biogas and biomethane

For biogas producers the strategy opens two possibilities. The first is the use of biogas as a feedstock for producing hydrogen by reforming. The second is competition: in some applications, for example in industry and heavy transport, hydrogen may replace biomethane. In practice both carriers will complement each other, because biomethane can be injected into the existing gas network without new investment, while hydrogen requires different infrastructure or its adaptation.

It was also important for Polish investors that the strategy affects support rules and sustainability criteria. Hydrogen from biogas will have to meet requirements concerning feedstocks and emission reductions, just like biomethane in the transport sector.

What next

The Commission announced a review in the following years of the rules on the gas market in order to take account of hydrogen and other renewable and low-carbon gases, and the establishment of common terminology and certification. Member States, including Poland, were to prepare national strategies. For the biogas industry this meant the need to follow whether the new rules would result in unequal treatment of biomethane and hydrogen in support mechanisms.

How to interpret the quantitative targets

The targets of 6 GW and 40 GW are political and investment-oriented, and not binding on individual states. The Commission pointed out that large outlays will be needed for renewable electricity for electrolysers, transmission infrastructure and storage. The use of hydrogen is planned above all where electrification is difficult: in chemicals, steelmaking, heavy transport and aviation. For farms and biogas plants hydrogen is therefore not a substitute in the coming years, but a complement to the renewable gas system.