French Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher has been meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson to advocate for the inclusion of nuclear power as a clean energy source for hydrogen production.
To speed up its green transformation and reduce its reliance on Russian fossil resources, the European Union unveiled its REPowerEU initiative in May.
The policy calls for both domestic production of and import of 10 million metric tons of green hydrogen by 2030.
According to the French minister, it is extremely difficult to produce green hydrogen from “low-carbon” electricity such as nuclear power under the current restrictions. In her letter, Pannier-Runacher also took aim at the so-called “principle of additionality,” which allows renewable hydrogen to be designated green if it is created from energy blends that include more than 90% renewables.
The French government is worried that the EU’s proposal to buy hydrogen may result in the transfer of secret technologies and the import of hydrogen that does not conform to EU production standards.
In order to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the French minister requested the Commission to allow member states to choose whether or not to put low-carbon energies in the mix alongside renewable energies.
