EASE welcomes the proposal for the new Batteries Regulation proposed by the European Commission on 10 December 2020. Although several criticalities are present, the new Regulation is a step forward to tackle several of the barriers that currently hinder the battery market.
March 2021 / Reports and Studies
Power-to-Gas: Policies and Actions in Europe
EASE has prepared an overview of the upcoming and existing key policy and actions of Spain, the Netherlands and Germany to support the uptake of hydrogen and Power-to-Gas solutions.
Hydrogen and Power-to-Gas are chemical energy storage technologies; one of five energy storage “families” identified by EASE. Electricity-produced hydrogen can be used for transport (fuel), for heating (fuel), as a raw material (chemical feedstock); to balance electricity demand and supply and to support the management of the electricity grid (through storage).
The European Union, and many of its Member States, consider clean hydrogen a key priority to achieve the European Green Deal and Europe’s clean energy transition. Yet, today, hydrogen is a modest fraction of the European energy mix.
EASE welcomes the two strategies presented by the European Commission in 2020, the Energy System Integration and Hydrogen. While it seems clear that coordination at the European Union level is necessary, different states are trying to introduce complementary policies and initiatives to favour its uptake. It seems one-size-fits-all solutions may not exist – States have different characteristics and priorities, so different approaches are necessary.
In this document, we will focus solely on hydrogen produced through Power-to-Gas, i.e. by electrolysis. Other technologies to produce hydrogen are not considered.
EASE welcomes the proposal for the new Batteries Regulation proposed by the European Commission on 10 December 2020. Although several criticalities are present, the new Regulation is a step forward to tackle several of the barriers that currently hinder the battery market.
11 industry associations covering the entire batteries value chain express their concerns about key elements in the ongoing debates in the European Parliament and the Council on the Batteries Regulation proposal, and provide recommendations for achieving shared goals.
EASE welcomes the recast Energy Taxation Directive, which goes in the right direction by making it possible to consider energy storage facilities as redistributors so to avoid double taxation. More ambitious steps are needed however, such as basing minimum tax rates on carbon content of the energy product, setting enforceable rules to phase-out double taxation in all Member States, and ensuring system integration is incentivised through favourable rates.
