20 April 2023
Council of Ministers approves draft amendment on proposal Hydrogen Law
The Council of Ministers approved a draft amendment last week concerning the transportation of hydrogen by pipelines (“hydrogen law”), on the proposal of Energy Minister Tinne van der Straeten.
The draft law on the transportation of hydrogen by pipelines was adopted by the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Environment and Climate and is the subject of minor adjustments that do not compromise the original objective and general approach of the law.
This draft amendment concerns adjustments related to:
- Modification of the transition period for existing hydrogen networks: elimination of the negotiated third party access (TPA) during the transition period and elimination of the December 31, 2023 deadline as the end date for the transition period. It is intended to make this provision temporary by law at a later stage, to the extent that the transposition of the "Hydrogen and decarbonized gas market" package (or the "gas package") would determine this
- Deadline for the designation of the hydrogen transmission system operator: the designation of the hydrogen transmission system operator will be limited to a renewable period of 20 years, by analogy with the frameworks for the designation of Elia and Fluxys
- Introduction of a legal basis for the possible granting of subsidies to the hydrogen transmission system operator