A broad coalition of energy providers, shipping companies, and NGOs – including Siemens Energy, Viking Cruises, Green Power Denmark and Brussels-based organisations Hydrogen Europe and Transport&Environment (T&E) – has called on the EU to introduce a minimum quota of 6% sustainable and scalable hydrogen fuels by 2030.

Last year the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, proposed a shipping fuel law (FuelEU Maritime Regulation) aimed at increasing the uptake of alternative marine fuels. Unfortunately, the law fails to guarantee the competitiveness of sustainable and scalable e-fuels, and risks promoting cheaper, unsustainable fuels. The coalition therefore calls on the European Parliament and EU Council to improve the proposal by including a dedicated e-fuels sub quota in the proposed regulation.

Daniel Fraile, Chief Policy Officer of Hydrogen Europe, said: “The FuelEU Maritime proposal leaves much to be desired. As it stands, neither the Council’s nor the Rapporteur’s positions introduce the needed policies to align the proposal with the renewed ambition of the RePowerEU. The current proposals do not provide a clear signal for the uptake of hydrogen and hydrogen-based e-fuels in the maritime sector. We call on the European Parliament and the EU Member States to fully recognize the role of these technologies and to accelerate their deployment to decarbonize European and global shipping. Sustainable hydrogen and e-fuels, particularly when produced from renewable sources, need to be incentivized by a dedicated subtarget and a multiplier that would drive up investments in these fuels.”

A list of all the coalition’s demands can be found here.