Wallström signals desire to push for ‘hydrogen strategy’

Date: 19/06/03

By Karen Carstens

ENVIRONMENT Commissioner Margot Wallström has come down clearly in favour of focusing an EU "hydrogen strategy" on renewables - as opposed to nuclear power or fossil fuels.

While the European environment chief diplomatically did not rule out continued investments in other energy sources, she stressed her own view on the matter during the closing debate of a two-day conference on hydrogen and fuel cells hosted by the European Commission.

Fusion, which involves the joining together of nuclei to release energy, is still in an experimental stage. It has long been heralded as an alternative to the current practice of nuclear fission, which involves the splitting of a so-called heavy nucleus into two, resulting in the release of energy.

"If we would have had the same kind of consistency and persistence in the last 40 years for renewables that we do for [nuclear] fusion, we would be a lot further along now," she said on Tuesday (17 June) in response to a panellist's point on whether nuclear fusion could be a possible pillar of a potential "hydrogen road-map".

"I just wish for the same kind of vision and determination and funding for renewables," she said, adding that a key reason is that the debate should not be limited to Europe.

"We need to look at the global context, to bring the whole world in - so let's think long-term," she said.

"I just wish for the same kind of visionary approach [as with nuclear]," she added. "But then again this is my very own personal view."

Delegates welcomed the Swede's speech with spontaneous cheers and clapping.

At the same time, fellow panelist Stephan Singer, an energy and climate expert at the World Wide Fund for Nature, more bluntly dismissed fusion as "a waste of money for 40 years".

On a more threatening note, he also warned delegates that: "If a sustained hydrogen supply results in a nuclear revival, I can promise you we [NGOs] can make hydrogen dead in the water."

"Let's not make this another nuclear debate," he added. "Let's focus on clean hydrogen."