EU rules that France can use nuclear energy to make “green” hydrogen

But Germany will contest the new definition of “low-carbon” energy.

The European Parliament has ruled that hydrogen made with France’s nuclear-powered electric grid will be classified as “low carbon.”

The ruling is part of a set of new EU agreements designed to develop the European hydrogen market, and will be contested by Germany, which has no nuclear power of its own, and argues that nuclear power, while low-carbon, is not renewable and so shouldn’t qualify as green energy.

The ruling is one part of the Hydrogen Directive, a large package designed to help the European energy grid shift from natural gas to hydrogen which was set out in December 2021, and finally voted through the Parliament on 9 February.

“The age of hydrogen is coming,” said Jerzy Buzek, an MEP from Poland, who is leading the move for new regulations to back the Directive, according to Eurctiv. “To make it happen in the EU, we need a stable and well-balanced regulatory framework, financial support as well as investments in new infrastructure.”

The industry, research, and energy committee backed the full agreement with 62 votes in favor and two against the Directive, and 54 votes in favor and 17 against the regulations supporting it.

The next step is approval by the full European Parliament (a yes/no vote in March) and then negotiations with the 27 EU countries.

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