France and Germany aim to agree on a ‘common roadmap’ for decarbonised hydrogen in which nuclear-based hydrogen will play an important role, the leaders of both countries said at the Franco-German Council of Ministers on Sunday (22 January).
For months now, French and German government officials have been considering the most viable technologies for the development of low-carbon hydrogen.
While France has insisted that the European Union should recognise the role of nuclear-based low-carbon hydrogen, Germany has instead pushed for a strict definition that requires the fuel to be produced from only renewable energies.
However, following the Franco-German Council of Ministers on Sunday, during which the two states celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, the states seem to have come to some kind of agreement.
“While respecting the principle of technological neutrality with regard to the national choice of energy mix, we commit to stepping up our investments in the technologies of tomorrow, particularly renewable and low carbon energies, energy efficiency,” the declaration published after the meeting that states joint cooperation aims reads.
“Not least with a view to the decarbonization in the building stock – grids, smart and environmental-friendly technologies and hydrogen, for which we will develop a joint roadmap,” it adds.
April showers bring May flowers
Following a long-standing dispute regarding hydrogen production in the EU, the agreed aims present a notable shift of approach.
At the end of November in Berlin, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to respect the so-called principle of “technological neutrality”, with Germany recognising the role of nuclear in attaining EU decarbonisation goals, while France agreed to not obstruct the development of renewables at EU level.
Towards the end of last year, however, tensions rose again. French Minister for Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher accused her German counterpart Robert Habeck of being “hypocritical” for refusing to include low-carbon hydrogen in the development targets for renewable hydrogen during a meeting of EU energy ministers on 19 December.
Her comments came in response to the recent proposal to include low-carbon hydrogen in the EU Gas Directive – a move the Czech presidency said was in line with the new Franco-German approach.
Today, the hatchet seems to be definitively buried, with Germany taking a giant step towards meeting the demands of France and its EU allies on the matter – Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Hungary.
France and Germany seem determined to “build a resilient European hydrogen market”, thanks to “a common approach and strategic roadmap”, as outlined in the declaration.
It remains to be seen how this new cooperation will be reflected in negotiations on the Gas Directive, currently ongoing between the European Parliament, member states and the European Commission.
Luxembourg, for example, has historically been a fervent opponent of nuclear power.
A joint Franco-German working group on hydrogen is expected to provide clarification on the common approach in April.
Extending H2 Med
Franco-German cooperation took another big leap on Sunday as it was announced that the Franco-Spanish H2 Med pipeline project, which aims to transport 10% of the bloc’s decarbonised hydrogen by 2030, would be extended to Germany.
Scholz described the expansion as an “excellent project for the future”.
H2 Med replaced the former MidCat pipeline project that would have traversed the Pyrénées, had Macron not continuously opposed it despite support from Germany, Spain and Portugal.
At a press conference that followed the Franco-German meeting, Macron said the “strategy behind MidCat was not good”, particularly as it would have crossed a mountain chain.
H2 Med, which was still called BarMar at the EU MED summit of southern European states in Alicante at the start of December, is a project that is “much easier” to defend as it foresees a pipeline that would go “from port to port”, according to Macron.
H2 Med is also in the running to be recognised as being an EU project of common or mutual interest, and therefore eligible for additional EU funding.
In the joint declaration, the leaders also said, they intend to create “a Franco-German dialogue platform on battery recharging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructures”.
No joint position on EU electricity market reform, particularly the decoupling of gas and decarbonised electricity prices, was announced.
Source : Euractiv
