The much-anticipated REPowerEU plan, presented by the European Commission on May 18, sets a target of 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen production by 2030.
The Commission will also issue two enabling bills on the definition and production of renewable hydrogen to ensure that production is net decarbonized. To accelerate the hydrogen project, an additional 200 million euros ($210 million) in funding has been set aside for research.
Reducing fossil fuel consumption in industry and transportation also played an important role in the report. The European Commission said it would "introduce different carbon contracts to support the uptake of green hydrogen by industry, with specific financing for REPowerEU under the Innovation Fund."
The plan is in response to the disruption to global energy markets caused by the war in Ukraine. The Ukraine war has accelerated the need for the EU to end its dependence on Russia for fossil fuels.
The European Commission also mentioned plans to build a new energy system for Ukraine using electricity and renewable hydrogen under the REPowerUkraine initiative.
On May 5, the European Commission and European electrolyzer manufacturing companies signed a joint statement predicting that production capacity in the EU will increase to 175GW by 2025.
