France wants to open the law to recognize “low-carbon hydrogen” – the term used to describe hydrogen produced from nuclear energy – and has been backed by countries including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The attempt to slash Europe’s contribution to climate change and help countries end dependency on Russian gas have been deadlocked, however, by a dispute over whether fuels produced using nuclear power should be included in the targets, with France now poised to present a fresh proposal on the matter.
France suggests tweaks to targets being negotiated, including an aim for 42% of the hydrogen used in industry to be produced from renewable sources by 2030.
France says the aim is to ensure rapid replacement of fossil fuel-based hydrogen by hydrogen that no longer contributes to climate change, be it produced with renewable energy or from nuclear power.
Seven countries have rejected proposals that would allow low-carbon fuels to count towards the targets, which they said would use the renewable energy law to promote non-renewable energy sources.