European Institutions

COMMISSION

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Commission Establishes European Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technology Platform

The European Commission is now establishing a European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform (HFCTP), aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of these key energy technologies in Europe.

The HFCTP will have an open and accessible structure allowing the participation of all active stakeholders. The European nuclear industry will be taking part in this initiative.

At a debate in Brussels organised by the Friends of Europe late last year, industry representatives and NGOs had the opportunity to hear from Commission experts about what the European Union (EU) has in mind for the future development of the hydrogen economy.

The debate touched on all the challenges and opportunities of a strategy to promote a hydrogen-based economy. These are the development timeframe and the measures to be taken during the transitional period; the role of carbon-based or renewable energy sources in hydrogen production; safety, transport and infrastructure development; and – last but not least – the potential use of nuclear technology to produce hydrogen.

Industry and NGO representatives agreed with Commission experts that public acceptance of hydrogen would be one of the key elements in a future strategy to develop a hydrogen economy. But a note of caution was sounded: hydrogen is no better than the source that produces it. Nuclear energy as a source and hydrogen as an energy carrier together offer many attractive features. Taking that into consideration, it is vital that the European nuclear industry consolidate its position on the issue of the hydrogen economy.