Portugal embraces Commission’s EU hydrogen bank idea

An EU bank to support hydrogen projects is an excellent idea for energy autonomy, said Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho following the announcement made by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address.

On Wednesday, von der Leyen called for the creation of an EU bank to foster investment in hydrogen projects, budgeted at €3 billion.

“It seems an excellent idea and clearly points to European autonomy” in the area of energy, said Cravinho.

The development of these projects “in turn implies interconnections so that we can speak of a united Europe in terms of energy and in terms of hydrogen distribution,” recalled Gomes Cravinho, who was speaking at the end of a ministerial meeting between Portugal and Spain.

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the EU Commission chief argued that “hydrogen can completely change innovation in Europe”, which is why it is necessary to “move from a niche market to a mass market for hydrogen”.

Portugal’s foreign minister said that “the energy issue is a fundamental issue and therefore it was a part of the conversation” of the Portuguese ministers with their counterparts from Spain.

The issue of the Iberian Peninsula’s energy connections with France and the rest of Europe was addressed, with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares insisting on the need to complete the connections between Spain and France and stressing that with this, the Iberian Peninsula, which has fewer supply problems, “is showing solidarity” with more dependent countries.

“The proposals that Portugal and Spain have been defending are gaining ground,” the Portuguese minister also said, with his Spanish counterpart adding that “these are constructive proposals” to face Russia’s blackmail to cut off Europe’s energy supplies.

(Ana Paula Pires/Lusa.pt)