The European Union aims to decarbonize its gas sector by 2050 via the use of “low carbon gases”, including “blue” and “green” hydrogen. In the short and mid-term, natural gas is also envisaged to play a significant role as a “transitional fuel”. This short report prepared by VIS, elaborates on why the carbon neutrality target to be achieved by 2050 is not fully compatible with the long lifetimes of “blue” hydrogen and new natural gas infrastructure, especially considering the expected cost-competitiveness of “green” hydrogen in the coming years. The report discusses how the relevant EC policies, the Member States’ initiatives, the allocation of public and private funds and the pipeline of new natural gas projects, raise concerns for probable lock-in effects and increase the risk of having stranded natural gas and/or “blue” hydrogen assets across the EU. The report can be accessed via the below link.
https://vis-consultants.com/wp-content/uploads/Stranded-gas-assets.pdf