nuclear-news

Nuclear missing from Europe’s draft Clean Industrial Deal subsidy rules

And green hydrogen might get more preferable treatment than low-carbon hydrogen

Stefano Porciello Euractiv , Feb 14, 2025, https://www.euractiv.com/section/eet/news/nuclear-missing-from-draft-clean-industrial-deal-subsidy-rules/

Nuclear energy isn’t mentioned once in the European Commission’s draft rules for looser state aid.

The draft, seen by Euractiv, appears to contradict the EU industry chief Stéphane Séjourné, who said that Europe would “finally stop ignoring nuclear power” with its new strategy just two days ago.

Looser state aid rules are a  key component of the Commission’s ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ package, which aims to boost the fortunes of Europe’s decarbonised industry. The main text is expected to land on 26 February.

The draft state aid rules, which could still change before the final draft is published, shows that preferential treatment may be offered to renewable ‘green’ hydrogen over ‘low-carbon’ hydrogen, which can be produced from nuclear or fossil fuels matched with carbon capture.

When industry decarbonisation projects use hydrogen, EU member states should either make sure that these use only green hydrogen.

Alternatively, if low-carbon hydrogen is used, the project should also use a minimum proportion of green hydrogen. This threshold is linked to the amount of renewable power on the country’s electricity grid.

The new rules are expected to replace the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, which was adopted in March 2023 to boost Europe’s green transition.

The recently adopted EU Competitiveness Compass indicated that a new state aid framework could be expected in the second quarter of 2025.

A finalised draft of the new state aid rules could be published after the Clean Industrial Deal and may be adopted before summer.

February 17, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international