France Hydrogène

France Hydrogène considers that the reform of the EU ETS carbon market is going in the right direction to strengthen the carbon price signal and encourage the transition to low-carbon technologies provided that adequate carbon leakage protection is guaranteed to trade intensive sectors.

Frances Hydrogène welcomes the recast of the Taxation Energy Directive (ETD) as presented in the “Fit for 55” legislative package. Rules on the taxation of fossil-based energies and clean energies emerging with new low-carbon technologies need to be updated, particularly to match the strengthened EU climate neutrality ambitions.

France Hydrogène welcomes the revision of the Gas Directive and Regulation in order to prepare the design of a competitive hydrogen market by 2030, as promoted in the EU Strategy on Hydrogen. Renewable and low-carbon hydrogen are efficient solutions to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as chemicals, heavy industries, heavy-duty road transport, railway, aviation and shipping.

France Hydrogène welcomes the new ambitions from the EU with the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation. The new Regulation will support the uptake of hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS), whose deployment will now become mandatory for Member States, instead of being optional as it was with the AFID.

France Hydrogène welcomes the initiative Refuel Aviation whose goal is to support the uptake of renewable fuels in the air transport. Either with fuel cells or H2 turbines, hydrogen-powered aircraft are not directly targeted by the Regulation as they are considered insufficiently mature technological options within the next 10 years.

The ReFuel Aviation Regulation will directly constrain airline companies to gradually switch to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to reduce their GHG emissions. Hydrogen technologies can play a future role for the decarbonation of the aviation sector, with two main applications.

France Hydrogène welcomes the initiative to support the uptake of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport. France Hydrogène particularly supports the agnostic and technologically neutral approach of the Regulation, offering a wide range of renewable and low-carbon fuel solutions to decarbonise the sector, such as hydrogen (gas or liquid), synthetic fuels (e-fuels), ammonia, or methanol.

France Hydrogène considers that the revision of the regulation (EU)2019/1242 represents a major potential lever for decarbonization of new heavy-duty vehicles. Some points of the revision must be given particular attention.