Italy's gas pipeline operator Snam and other European companies signed a declaration supporting the use of hydrogen in the decarbonisation and long-term energy security of the European Union, Snam said Wednesday in a statement.
The signing took place during an informal meeting of energy ministers organised by the rotating Austrian EU presidency in the city of Linz, the Snam statement said.
Snam and the other signatories pledged to gradually integrate hydrogen into the gas transport network, to favour its use as a solution for energy storage, and to back the development of hydrogen produced by electrolysis, allowing a more efficient use of intermittent renewable energy, said the statement.
Hydrogen is a form of renewable gas that, like biomethane which is already in circulation in the Italian grid, can be injected into existing natural gas infrastructure, Snam noted.
According to the declaration signed in Linz, this technological solution can create synergies between the electricity, heating and mobility sectors, allowing Europe to reduce its dependence on imports and to strengthen its security of supply, Snam stated.
There are also "interesting prospects" for the use of hydrogen in the transport sector and in industry to replace polluting energy sources in some particularly carbon-intensive sectors," said the Snam statement.
Technologies that aid the transition from fossil fuels to clean forms of energy are especially important in light of the landmark 2015 Paris climate pact which committed countries to keeping global warming "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels, the statement underlined.
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