Hydrogen strategy: EU must put an end to fossil fuel subsidies

Hydrogen is an important alternative for sectors stuck in the fossil fuel economy. As national governments and European parliamentarians negotiate the EU's hydrogen strategy, EASAC issues a new commentary. "Hydrogen can help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels," says William Gillett, director of EASAC's energy programme. "But the climate benefits are limited if we use fossil fuels to produce it - even with carbon capture and storage. The EU must put an end to fossil fuel subsidies. The fast-growing demand for hydrogen must be met by a massive increase in renewable electricity generation, along with certified imports from third countries."

"Electricity is a great way to decarbonise our economy. But important sectors like shipping, freight and air transport or steel production cannot easily be powered by electricity. To become carbon neutral, they need a fuel that can be transported like oil or gasoline, or that can be used to make steel from iron ore at high temperatures as well as coal," explains William Gillett, EASAC Energy Programme Director. "The growing demand for hydrogen and synthetic fuels makes it necessary to increase renewable electricity production in the EU. In addition, Europe will need imports and must develop partnerships with third countries to drive global trade in renewable hydrogen and the technologies to produce it."

CO2 capture and storage does not make fossil hydrogen climate neutral

EASAC calls on the EU to put an end to direct and indirect subsidies, taxes, levies and other incentives for fossil fuels. Gillett: "Direct and indirect support for fossil fuels sends the wrong signals. Instead, the EU should revise the Emissions Trading Directive to make CO2 more expensive and boost investor confidence in the future markets for renewable electricity and renewable hydrogen. Even in combination with carbon capture and storage, fossil fuel-based hydrogen still has a significant carbon footprint. To achieve climate neutrality, the EU should take a leadership role in the global markets for renewable hydrogen and in the production of low-cost electrolysers to produce it".

Avoid commitment to expensive infrastructures

The scientists also point out how important it is not to commit prematurely to infrastructures that are later made redundant by cheaper technologies or market developments. "In the power sector, decentralised generation is playing an increasingly important role. Building on this experience, it makes sense to think locally for hydrogen and to proceed in stages: first, decentralised electrolysers should be used for local hydrogen production and feed into local grids," Gillett explains. "Also, we should not forget that the synthetic fuel route is less efficient than the direct use of electricity or battery storage. Hydrogen or synthetic fuels should predominantly only be used where electrification is not an option."

Annex:
The scientists call on policy makers:

urgently increase the generation of electricity from renewable energies. This should be used directly wherever possible and is indispensable for regenerative hydrogen production;
Remove subsidies, taxes, levies and other incentives for fossil fuels that distort energy markets and limit the growth potential for renewable hydrogen and synthetic fuels;
involve independent experts beyond the Clean Hydrogen Alliance in the work to identify and develop measures to remove market barriers;
Strengthen carbon pricing by revising the Emissions Trading Directive to stimulate markets for renewable hydrogen and hydrogen-derived synthetic fuels;
introduce new schemes (besides the ETS) to accelerate the switch from fossil to renewable hydrogen in the chemical industry and other industries including steel production;
Increase investor confidence by supporting stakeholders working together in local hydrogen networks (Member States, industry, civil society and scientific community);
Promote the sustainable development of hydrogen markets, starting with local or regional networks near renewable electricity supply, hydrogen production plants and hydrogen consumption centres;
Establish strong links between the EU, national, regional and local levels for the coordination of governance mechanisms;
Secure imports of renewable hydrogen into the EU (in addition to EU production) by building international partnerships and trade cooperation with interested third countries as well as with EU neighbours;
orient the promotion of investments in renewable hydrogen and hydrogen-derived synthetic fuels towards minimising energy consumption and total life-cycle costs per unit of greenhouse gas emissions saved;
Encourage investment in renewable hydrogen under the EU taxonomy with its disclosure requirements for environmentally sustainable economic activities;
Set standards for hydrogen production based on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and certification of low-carbon hydrogen for use with the EU taxonomy for investment;
Support the rapid development of electrolysers, prioritising electrolysers with decreasing costs and fast market diffusion and learning curves to accelerate hydrogen production;
discourage the use of whole trees for the production of renewable hydrogen by using sustainability criteria that limit the "carbon payback period" to less than 10 years.
Support research, market studies and demand-driven initiatives on hydrogen infrastructure (local, national and international), certification and standardisation.

Contact:

Dr William Gillett
EASAC Energy Programme Director
Email : William.Gillett@easac.eu

Prof.dr.sc. Neven Duic
Power Engineering and Energy Management Chair
Department of Energy, Power and Environmental Engineering
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture
University of Zagreb

Prof. Dr Konstantinos Boulouchos
Director of Aerothermochemistry and Combustion Systems Laboratory (LAV)
Institute of Energy Technology
ETH Zurich

Head of Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research (SCCER)
in Efficient Technologies and Systems for Mobility

Prof. George A. Giannopoulos
Academy of Athens (Energy Committee)

Prof. Dr Veronika Grimm
Professor of Economic Theory
Friedrich Alexander University (FAU)
Erlangen-Nuremberg

Prof Jenny Nelson
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics
Imperial College London

Prof.dr.ir. M.C.M. van de Sanden (Richard)
Group Leader PSFD
DIFFER, Eindhoven, NL

Prof Asgeir Tomasgard
Director FME NTRANS, Director NTNU Energy Transition Initiative
Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

About the European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC)
EASAC is formed by the national science academies of the EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom, to collaborate in giving advice to European policymakers. EASAC provides a means for the collective voice of European science to be heard. Through EASAC, the academies work together to provide independent, expert, evidence-based advice about the scientific aspects of European policies to those who make or influence policy within the European institutions.

Link
www.easac.eu

Source: easac-PM of 29.9.2020

Keywords: Energy storage, Renewable, Research, Climate protection, Sustainable management, News Blog Europe (without DE), Power-to-Gas, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy, Hydrogen

Published 6 January 2021

Hamburg decides to make photovoltaics compulsory from 2023

On 22.12.2020, the Senate passed the first legal ordinance on the Hamburg Climate Protection Act. This regulates the concrete implementation of the solar roof obligation and the integration of renewable energies when replacing heating systems. With these regulations, Hamburg is one of the pioneers in climate protection in the building sector nationwide.

Together with the Climate Protection Act, the Climate Plan was adopted. This comprises more than 400 individual measures and is one of the city's most important climate and economic stimulus projects. The Climate Protection Act provides, among other things, for an obligation to install photovoltaic systems on the roofs of new buildings in Hamburg from 2023. For existing buildings, where the roof cladding is completely renewed, the obligation will take effect from 2025. From mid-2021, a minimum proportion of the heating energy requirement must be covered by renewable energies when the heating system is replaced. The details and exemptions to the new requirements are set out in the legal ordinance that has just been issued. . BUKEA estimates the potential savings from the photovoltaic obligation at 60,000 tons of CO₂ by 2030.

The principle of economic efficiency also applies to the roofs: solar energy should pay for itself, for which the environmental authority bases an amortisation period of 20 years for photovoltaic systems. If, in individual cases, the payback period should be longer, the obligation does not apply. However, the environmental authority assumes that many systems will pay for themselves in a much shorter period and will also run for longer than 20 years. Exceptions are provided for in individual cases where the installation of a photovoltaic system is technically impossible or competes with other unavoidable uses.

A minimum size for the photovoltaic system was not specified, so that the obligated parties can choose a system that corresponds to their economic interests and allows a coexistence with other roof uses, such as the combination with a green roof.

Jens KerstanSenator for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture: "The EU, the federal government and also Hamburg must make great efforts to achieve the climate targets from the Paris Agreement. The public sector is just as much in demand here as industry, commerce and private individuals. We can and must all make a significant contribution to buildings through renewable electricity and climate-friendly heating. Especially in densely built-up urban areas, it is important to use suitable areas, preferably several times.

Hamburg's roofs offer enormous potential for the expansion of solar energy. The technology is mature, proven and has become increasingly economical and efficient over the past 20 years. It is now standard practice in more ambitious building projects. With the Climate Protection Act we have introduced the obligation that the solar energy potential on the roofs of our city is used. In the future, at least 15 percent of the heat for buildings must be produced from renewable energies when heating is replaced - with the legal ordinance passed by the Senate today, we are defining the content of the legal criteria.

With the support of renowned experts, we now have a legal regulation with a sense of proportion and comprehensible criteria for the evaluation of exceptions. It is now a matter of implementing these with all those involved. The city's skilled trades will play an important role in this. With regard to the minimum share of 15 percent renewable energies in new heating systems, we are relying on reliable and proven technologies such as the use of biomass, solar thermal energy and environmental heat, but also on technical innovations such as fuel cell technology in the future.

Wherever there is the possibility of connecting to a heating network that can supply heat with a corresponding share of renewable energies, this simple option can and should also be used. The expansion of heating networks and heat production with more renewable energies is another important component of the heat transition in Hamburg. With a view to the financial implications for owners and tenants in this city, we link the obligation to the economic viability of the measures. The use of more renewable energies should also prevent the costs of electricity and heating in Hamburg from rising in the long term. The housing industry can make so-called tenant electricity offers to its tenants and thus allow tenants to participate in the energy transition. This is already expressly permitted by the Climate Protection Act, and the conditions for tenant electricity models have just been considerably improved in the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) of the Federal Government. With these regulations, Hamburg is one of the pioneers in climate protection nationwide."

Dr. Veit Bürger, Deputy Head of the Energy & Climate Protection Division (Freiburg) at the Öko-Institut advised the environmental authority on the drafting of the ordinance and explains: "The obligation to use renewable energies is an important step for Hamburg's climate protection. The heat turnaround will only succeed if more renewable heat energies are used in existing buildings. Our calculations show that for each of the building types examined, there are different variants with which a homeowner can meet the new obligation in an economical way."

Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, Head of the Smart Cities Group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg and also an expert for the legal ordinance, says of Hamburg's photovoltaic obligation: "With the PV obligation designed in this way, Hamburg has created a well-founded set of regulations that stimulates the necessary expansion of solar energy without overburdening the obligated parties."

In view of the economic and cyclical consequences of the Corona pandemic, an increased expansion of solar systems and renewable heat systems offers a great opportunity to strengthen the local and regional economy and value creation, while at the same time advancing the energy transition even faster. This applies to the entire value chain, from planning to installation by craftsmen and women. Every new building and every building renovation offers an opportunity for the economy and for climate protection. The environmental authority will support the implementation of the new obligations with accompanying information materials and advisory services.

Info on the net:

Background information on the climate protection law: www.hamburg.de/klimaschutzgesetz
Legal ordinance on the Climate Protection Act: t.hh.en/14762816
Hamburg Climate Protection Act (HmbKliSchG)

Source: PM of the City of Hamburg from 22 December 2020