Mixed reaction to EU hydrogen package

The EU is set to make €470m available for research into the so-called hydrogen economy.

Announcing the proposals on Wednesday, Janez Potocnik, the EU science and research commissioner, said he hoped this figure would be matched by the private sector.

“This is an important decision which should increase the potential of hydrogen as an energy carrier in Europe,” he said.

The news was welcomed by several MEPs, including German Socialist deputy Jo Leinen, who said it will “herald a new industrial revolution” in the energy sector.

Details of the commission’s hydrogen package follow the adoption of a written declaration in April in which 420 MEPs demanded measures to launch the ‘hydrogen era’ and called for a radical change of behaviour towards energy.

Leinen described the package as “an attractive offer for science and economy”.

He said the EU possesses the necessary technological capacities to spearhead the fight against climate change.

“Now this knowledge must be transferred into action, be it for the production of hydrogen powered cars or for the use of hydrogen and fuel cells in the industry, in households and for buildings.”

But he cautioned that “the hydrogen economy needs to be based on renewable energies if it is to have a lasting effect on the environment”.

The news was also welcomed by Italian member Vittorio Prodi. “The economy, the labour market and the environment could profit equally from these initiatives,” he said.

But Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes was somewhat less enthusiastic. “It is regrettable that the commission is still wasting time flogging the dead horse of hydrogen cars when even the car industry itself has abandoned the dream that the technology will be viable in the near future.”

“There are clear solutions to the environmental damage caused by vehicle emissions that will deliver real results in the short-term, such as through the enforcement of ambitious efficiency standards or the promotion of hybrid vehicles.”

“The commission should have the courage to promote these solutions as part of a sustainable transport policy and not hide behind smokescreens like hydrogen cars.”

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