Tuesday, 15 October 2024.
“Hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) are indispensable to a Paris Agreement aligned transition”.
This quote appears on the foreword of the latest Energy Transition Outlook, by the Norwegian risk consultancy DNV Det Norske Veritas. Carbon Credit Markets disseminated this report yesterday.
On the other hand, same report indicated that DNV’s revised its long-term forecast for hydrogen and its derivatives down by 20%, as fast-moving regions such as Europe, OECD Pacific and North America struggle to scale hydrogen in.
Here is one example of actions being undertaken, as renewable and low-carbon fuels, such as hydrogen, have an important role to play in the energy transition, causing fewer emissions than unabated fossil fuels.
Announced last 27 September 2024 by its Directorate-General for Energy, the European Commission launched a short 4-week call for feedback on the draft act which clarifies the methodology for evaluating the emission savings of low-carbon hydrogen and fuels.
According to the press release, the EU hydrogen and gas decarbonisation package was published in the EU Official Journal last 15 July and entered into force on 5 August 2024. The Commission has 12 months following the entry into force to clarify the definition of low carbon hydrogen, but is seeking to have the rules in place earlier. EU countries have until 5 August 2026 to transpose the new rules of the directive into national law.
The EU hydrogen and gas decarbonisation package consists of Directive (EU) 2024/1788 on common rules for the internal markets and Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 on the internal markets itself, both for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen.
Click at the image below to read more about that hydrogen related public consultation by the European Commission.
Last but not least, another perspective is cost and price, about which we go back to another quote from that same foreword of the 2024 DNV Energy Transition Outlook:
“Without a meaningful carbon price and/or direct market-stimulating support, hydrogen will struggle to scale and move down a cost-learning curve”.
