Renewables must drive hydrogen future: EU Parliament

London (Platts)--12Sep2005

Renewables and not nuclear must drive the coming hydrogen economy, a
cross-party group of European parliamentarians, including President Josep
Borrell, said Monday in a manifesto calling for more support for 'green
hydrogen'. 
     "Hydrogen has to be one of the EU's major priorities in the coming
years," Spanish Conservative Alejo Vidal Quadras told journalists. The
manifesto calls for any future hydrogen economy to be based on renewables and
not fossil fuels or nuclear power. It also calls for fiscal incentives and
financing schemes to boost renewables and hydrogen infrastructure and to have
tighter energy efficiency and savings standards while moving from a fossil
fuel economy to a green hydrogen economy. 
     "It is absolutely essential to improve energy efficiency...insulate our
buildings and invest in sustainable energies in a major fashion," Spanish
Socialist Borrell said. "We must guide this and not leave it to market
forces." 
     The manifesto is high level and the parliamentarians plan to come forward
with a more detailed roadmap by end-October/November, said Luxembourg Green
Claude Turmes. "We'll bring together US and EU experts to work on the details,
such as what kind of tax incentives we need," he said. 
     EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said that his department was
very much in favor of research and development of hydrogen technology. "It is
clear that we need a fundamental change in the way we use energy," he said. EU
commissioners under President Romano Prodi agreed in 2003 to work toward
creating a sustainable hydrogen economy in Europe as soon as possible, and
approved a hydrogen and fuel cell technology platform to promote and
coordinate research.

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