The European Resilience Alliance for Clean Hydrogen & Derivatives (ERA) was launched today, in an event inaugurated by Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for a Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition of the European Commission
This is a pan-European initiative, led by senior executives, that brings together leading industrial companies from across Europe’s clean hydrogen value chain to address the continent’s energy challenges, boost industrial competitiveness and ensure strategic autonomy in the face of rapidly evolving geopolitical and industrial pressures.
The ERA’s mission is to step up Europe’s decarbonisation and industrial resilience with its own production of fuels, industrial inputs and low-carbon products. The Alliance aims to mobilize a unified coalition for policies and financing capacity across the value chain, as well as build scalable markets, clusters and cross-border corridors to promote scale-up and self-reliance.
Among the founding members of ERA are Enagás, Fluxys, Fortum, Gasgrid Finland, Moeve, Nordion Energi, OGE, RWE, SEFE, Stegra and Thyssenkrupp, in cooperation with Hydrogen Europe, representing the entire clean hydrogen value chain in the European Union.
The organization (whose founding members are Enagás, Fluxys, Fortum, Gasgrid Finland, Moeve, Nordion Energi, OGE, RWE, SEFE, Stegra and Thyssenkrupp, in cooperation with Hydrogen Europe) has published a white paper with concrete policy recommendations to close the gap between ambition and the development of clean hydrogen projects – in Europe
The official presentation event of the Alliance, held in the European Parliament today, was opened by Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President for a Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition of the European Commission, and was co-hosted by Andrea Wechsler and Nicolás González Casares, members of the European Parliament. Likewise, the event was attended by relevant political officials and leaders of the sector.
Before the presentation, a press conference was held, in which Andrea Wechsler, CEO of Moeve, stated that “Europe’s energy transition is not just about decarbonization, but about building a sovereign and resilient energy system that responds to both the needs of citizens and industry. Resilience must become one of the guiding principles of our energy policy, based on diversification, system integration and credible market frameworks that transform ambition into investment.”
ERA will work with two basic pillars to translate Europe’s climate and competitiveness ambitions into competitive and achievable projects. Firstly, it will provide a unified voice to policy makers at EU, national and
and regional to create the necessary conditions for a profitable sustainable energy value chain. Second, it will coordinate the entire value chain, from energy production and infrastructure to industrial demand and finance, to identify and resolve bottlenecks.
White paper to build bridges between ambition and implementation
Coinciding with its launch, ERA has published a white paper diagnosing bottlenecks, testing existing policy frameworks against industrial realities and detailing the financial and structural barriers holding back the European market for clean hydrogen – defined in EU Directive 2018/2001 as renewable hydrogen or low-carbon hydrogen, which reduces CO2 emissions by at least 70% compared to gray hydrogen -, along with concrete policy recommendations to address bridges between ambition and deployment.
The white paper notes that, despite the large number of ongoing projects in the clean hydrogen value chain, less than 7% have reached a final investment decision (FID). The paper identifies reasons why Europe’s clean hydrogen deployment is lagging behind in ambition, including fragmented implementation of EU regulations, complex renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) rules, high electricity costs, low demand certainty and uncertainty around infrastructure development. Calls on the European institutions and Member States to take urgent and coordinated measures across the four pillars:
Demand must drive the clean hydrogen ambition by creating stable and bankable demand for clean hydrogen through the immediate transposition of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), the harmonized application of regulations such as ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime, and the creation of leading markets in hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as industry, transport and defence.
Clarity and simplification of frameworks supporting clean hydrogen are essential; That is, moving from regulatory rigidity to industrial pragmatism by reducing electricity costs, which currently account for 70% of hydrogen production costs, as well as redesigning EU subsidies to prioritize large-scale, industry-anchored projects, targeting scarce resources where they matter most.
Turning private capital into a lever for clean hydrogen, which involves reducing investment risk by ensuring robust Emissions Trading System (ETS) and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) pricing, using the resulting revenues to make clean hydrogen competitive, extending transitional provisions for RFNBOs well beyond 2030 to reduce ramp-up costs, and introducing state-backed portfolio guarantees.
Infrastructure, lifeline of an integrated European energy market, and to this end, increase financing of the European hydrogen backbone, coordinate cross-border planning to connect production and demand centers with clear timeframes, and create risk-sharing instruments at EU level for early investment in infrastructure.