Debate: A European strategy for energy system integration – A European strategy for hydrogen
Date: MONDAY, 17 MAY 2021
Speaker: Kadri Simson
Language: EN

Parliament’s work is very timely. The Commission is currently preparing the ‘Fit for 55’ package – a revision of the energy efficiency and renewable energy directives that will translate into concrete measures. The policy guidelines presented in these two strategies, and your reports and their concrete recommendations are really important for this work. I want to congratulate Christophe Grudler and Jens Geier on these two high—quality reports and their ability to strike successful compromises that enjoy broad support across the political spectrum. I agree with many of the points outlined in the reports. Let me start with energy system integration. The strategy is about going beyond the established vision of the energy sector as isolated systems and imagining the new energy system of tomorrow. First, it is about having a system that is more efficient, circular and consumes fewer resources. Second, it is about integrating a large and growing share of renewable energy and promoting electrification. Third, it is about promoting the use of renewable gases and fuels, where electrification is not possible or is too costly. An integrated energy system needs to be based on well-functioning markets, modern infrastructure and on a higher level of digitisation. It is the precondition for the deployment of renewable gases, of which both our strategy and our report stress the importance. In this context, we welcome the support for developing a comprehensive classification and certification framework for renewable gases, based on the full lifecycle of greenhouse gas emissions savings and sustainability criteria. At the same time, we take note of Parliament’s request that the additionality requirement for renewable hydrogen be extended beyond its use in transport to cover all renewable hydrogen. We also acknowledge your request to provide additional incentives for the development of smart-charging and vehicle-to-grid functionalities. This will be assessed as part of the revision of both the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive and the Renewable Energy Directive in July. Finally, we have also taken into due consideration the report’s proposals on the energy efficiency first principle.  Turning to the hydrogen report, I welcome the strong convergence with our strategy, notably on the role hydrogen can play in decarbonising hard-to-decarbonise sectors like industry, aviation, shipping and heavy-duty transport, and on the need to have ambitious targets for both 2024 and 2030. Our priorities are hydrogen produced from renewables, and I am glad to see that we are in line with Parliament. However, we recognise the role that low—carbon hydrogen can play in a transition period.  The Parliament’s report encourages us to go ahead in designing the rules for a truly European hydrogen market, which we will do through a revision of the Renewable Energy Directive and the hydrogen and gas markets decarbonisation initiative. I would like to stress two other important points made in the report: the role of investment and the role of the transport network as enablers. Your report has some concrete proposals, which will be helpful in our ongoing work and our evaluation of national recovery plans.  The infrastructure network is another key enabler. We need to design a European backbone, building on the gas network that already exists. Last year, in our ten-year proposal, we included a dedicated hydrogen infrastructure category and the possibility of supporting large-scale electrolysers. We also included the repurposing of existing pipelines, especially at transmission level for exclusive hydrogen use. We count on the support of the European Parliament to preserve this important part of our proposal and to help conclude negotiations this year.  Finally, let me say that while the focus is on building a hydrogen ecosystem in Europe, we need to consider the international dimension as well. Last, but not least, I agree with the strong need to continue this research and innovation with our proposal for the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. We want to ensure that Europe remains the world leader in hydrogen technologies. I could stress many other points, but I’ll stop here. I look forward to engaging with you today ahead of this important discussion.