Our society is facing great challenges. The climate targets for 2030 (Klimaziele 2030) must be achieved without negatively impacting our mobility and Germany as an economic center. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to new battery electric and fuel cell vehicles, existing vehicles must also be considered. For these, renewable synthetic fuels, so-called e-fuels, must be the only option. Only through their use can a ban on the driving of conventional vehicles, which the federal government is considering in light of Klimaziele 2030 and which would mainly affect lower-income citizens, be prevented.However, the EU Commission intends to make such optimistic and idealistic demands on the production of renewable fuels that the necessary ramp-up of renewable synthetic fuel production is massively hampered. Implementation of the European Commission’s current draft of RED II (Renewable Energy Directive II) would delay the success of a game-changing technology and thus make the German climate targets in the transport sector unattainable. The federal government must therefore become active in this regard at the EU level. In addition, Germany should make full use of the extent of its policy-shaping power. After all, the Federal Republic has set much more ambitious targets for its future percentage of renewable fuels, more than 25%, than the EU, only 14%. The federal government has this responsibility to its voters and to the environment.

The previous federal government had adopted a mandatory greenhouse gas reduction quota of 25 percent. At the same time, green hydrogen was granted a special role, deviating from the EU directive. Its energy content is counted double towards greenhouse gas reduction. With this, the theoretical conditions for achieving the targets with green hydrogen and e-fuels in a cost-neutral manner were created. What is still missing is a regulation that guarantees investment security for companies during implementation.

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The new federal government is now called upon to issue a regulation for renewable synthetic fuels based on green hydrogen. To become the lead market for hydrogen technologies, Germany needs to balance climate protection, societal fairness and the promises set out by the new government, including personal freedom, fairness and sustainability. Ideological and too stringent conditions on electrical supply from renewable energy sources would be a threat to budget-neutral short-term ramp-up of a green H2 economy.[…]

… Read this article to the end in the latest H2-International

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Author: Werner Diwald – Deutscher Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellen-Verband e. V., Berlin