For EU Member States to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and increase independence from fossil fuels, it requires not only efforts to increase the share of renewable energy sources, but also a wider use of renewable and low-carbon gases, including hydrogen. For this purpose, the European Commission has prepared regulations focused on reducing EU gas market emissions.
Under the European Green Deal, natural gas plays the role of a so-called ‘bridge fuel’ due to the lower carbon intensity of gas-fired plants compared to coal-fired plants. Meanwhile, it is assumed that natural gas should be replaced by other energy sources, mainly hydrogen. The current EC strategy assumes achieving 40 GW of installed capacity of renewable hydrogen electrolysers and hydrogen production of 10 million tonnes in the EU by 2030.
