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Implementation of RFNBOs targets in industry
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➢ The use of hydrogen in the steel industry yields the highest CO2 abatement potential per tonne consumed with lower and upper ranges comprised between 16kgCO2/kgH2 and 23kgCO2/KgH2.
➢ The European steel sector is expected to be the largest hydrogen industrial user making up 26% of total demand (industry, power, transport) and making it a key driver of the market ramp-up – if the right conditions are in place.
➢ The current levels of hydrogen production in Europe, alongside the corresponding infrastructure must speed up considerably for the steel sector to succeed in its uptake efforts.
➢ National hydrogen policies should be centred upon promoting and enabling the efficient use of clean hydrogen in sectors yielding the highest CO2 emissions abatement potential and with no cost-efficient alternatives to decarbonise.
➢ The RFNBOs (Renewable liquid and gaseous Fuels of Non-Biological Origin) industrial target shall be based on a realistic and holistic assessment of supply and demand, taking international competitiveness into account.
➢ The responsibility to achieve the RFNBOs consumption targets shall be placed at the Member State level with no binding obligation on individual companies.
➢ Provide enabling framework conditions supporting the final uptake of renewable hydrogen in industrial uses as a key precondition for the imposition of consumption targets – which includes:
o Endorsing the prioritisation principle in all national initiatives and policies;
o Closing the price gap for renewable hydrogen via targeted funding schemes such as the European Hydrogen Bank;
o Adopting short-term solutions to alleviate wholesale electricity prices for energy-intensive industries;
o Maintaining a flexible approach in the rules on the production of renewable hydrogen established in the delegated act on additionality and correlation criteria;
o Improving the availability of and accessibility to renewable power and hydrogen purchase agreements (i.e., respectively PPAs and HPAs) for energy-intensive industries;
o Fostering the expansion of renewable energy capacity by concretely accelerating and streamlining administrative permit-granting processes as provided for in RED III in Art. 15+.
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Brussels, 25 June 2024 – The EU decision to continue the steel safeguard for another two-year period is a much-needed step towards ensuring the stability of the steel market amidst the highest levels of import penetration ever recorded in the EU. However, as global excess capacity is projected to increase even further in the coming years, a longer-term solution needs to be developed to address this structural challenge, says the European Steel Association.
Joint Statement
The existential threat posed by worsening non-market excess capacity cannot be ignored.