EU’s green hydrogen goals unlikely to be met – ECA

The European Union’s (EU) targets for producing and importing green hydrogen fuel are unrealistic despite significant funding, according to the European Court of Auditors (ECA) on Wednesday.

The European Commission aims to produce up to 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen and import an additional 10 million tons by 2030 as part of its plan to reduce reliance on Russian energy imports.

The ECA report criticised these targets as being based on “political will” rather than robust analysis, noting that the EU is far from meeting them. Another goal to install at least 40 gigawatts (GW) of renewable hydrogen electrolysers by 2030 was found to originate from hydrogen lobby group documents.

Despite €18.8 billion ($20.5 billion) in EU funding for green hydrogen projects, advanced-stage projects would add less than 5 GW of capacity by 2030, though around 50 GW of projects are in earlier stages of assessment.

Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy to split water without CO2 emissions, is crucial for the EU’s climate goals and is key to decarbonising industries like steel and fertiliser manufacturing.

“The EU’s industrial policy on renewable hydrogen needs a reality check,” said auditor Stef Blok. The ECA urged the European Commission to adopt a more targeted approach to funding and update policies to better incentivise hydrogen projects.

A Commission spokesperson acknowledged the report, noting that the hydrogen market is developing gradually and emphasising the need to accelerate the deployment of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen in Europe.