EU's 2040 Climate Proposal Omits Hydrogen, Drawing Industry Criticism, China's First Seawater Floating Solar Project Becomes Operational
（2025/06/30—2025/07/06）
Author：Hao-Wang
International Energy News
1. EU's 2040 Climate Proposal Omits Hydrogen, Drawing Industry Criticism
The European Commission's latest draft of its 2040 climate goals, which proposes a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels, has sparked strong backlash from the clean energy industry for its complete omission of hydrogen. Industry critics call it a "serious disconnect between strategic narrative and policy instruments," exposing a deep conflict between ambitious goals and technological pathways in Europe's energy transition. The omission has already triggered a market chain reaction. Data from 2024 shows that investment interest in European green hydrogen projects has fallen significantly behind other major economies, with some chemical giants shifting their capacity planning to North America. The industry widely believes that the climate target will be unachievable without a clear hydrogen roadmap. This struggle between goals and implementation will significantly impact Europe's strategic position in the global energy transition.
2. Global Hydropower Grew by 10% in 2024
Hydropower, the world's largest source of renewable energy, experienced strong growth in 2024. The latest "World Hydropower Outlook" from the International Hydropower Association (IHA) shows that global hydropower generation increased by 10% in 2024, reaching 4,578 TWh, a powerful rebound from the low performance during the previous year's droughts. The development pipeline also looks promising, with projects under development set to increase capacity by 8% to 1,075 GW by the end of 2024. However, the IHA also warns that to meet the hydropower targets in the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) "tripling renewable energy" scenario, there will be a projected gap of 60-70 GW by 2030.
3. EU to Invest €3.66 Billion in Clean Energy Projects
On July 3, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank announced the disbursement of €3.66 billion from the Modernisation Fund to support 34 energy projects across nine EU member states. These investments will support the modernization of the EU's energy systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the energy, industry, and transport sectors, and improve energy efficiency. The projects will help the beneficiary member states achieve their climate and energy goals. Additionally, they will enhance the EU's industrial competitiveness by supporting modern, efficient, and resilient energy infrastructure, promoting innovation, and helping to reduce the EU's fossil fuel imports. This funding, financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), is the largest disbursement from the Modernisation Fund to date, bringing the total amount disbursed since January 2021 to €19.1 billion.
Domestic Energy News
1. China's First Seawater Floating Solar Project Becomes Operational
On July 2, the all-seawater floating solar PV project at Qingdao Refining & Chemical was successfully completed and put into operation. As the first project of its kind to be industrialized in China, it marks a significant breakthrough in the application and promotion of floating solar technology in coastal and shallow sea areas. Combined with a previously operational water-surface solar project, it generates 16.7 million kWh of green electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 14,000 tons.
The project utilizes the sea's surface to generate power and has an installed capacity of 7.5 MW. It successfully overcomes multiple technical challenges of a seawater environment by using specialized anti-corrosion and anti-biofouling materials and an underwater anchoring system capable of withstanding strong winds and large tidal ranges, which also reduces investment costs by about 10%. Its floating structure stays close to the water surface, effectively using the seawater's cooling effect to increase power generation efficiency by 5% to 8%.
The full commissioning of the project establishes a new energy industry chain for the company of "using solar to produce green electricity, and green electricity to produce green hydrogen." It lays a solid resource foundation for the high-quality, integrated development of hydrogen and solar power and marks another important step in Sinopec's efforts to accelerate the construction of a clean, low-carbon energy supply system.
2. MIIT Organizes Meeting, Emphasizes Need to Address Disorderly, Low-Price Competition in PV Industry
On July 3, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) hosted a symposium with manufacturing enterprises to discuss how to accelerate the high-quality development of the photovoltaic (PV) industry. At the meeting, representatives discussed topics including business operations, technological innovation, market competition, and ecosystem development, reflecting on current difficulties and proposing policy suggestions.
The meeting emphasized that China's PV industry has already achieved a leading global advantage and has become a "bright name card for 'Made in China'." Addressing current issues such as low-price, disorderly competition, the meeting explicitly stated the need for comprehensive governance in accordance with laws and regulations, to guide the orderly exit of outdated production capacity, and to promote the industry's healthy and sustainable development. The meeting called on enterprises to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit, focus on technological innovation, adhere to quality standards, strengthen international cooperation, and build the competitive advantages of the next generation of products.
3. Sustainable Aviation Fuel Committee Established to Promote Green Transformation of Aviation
On July 1, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Special Committee was officially established at the 17th International Transport Technology and Equipment Exhibition. The committee is led by China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) and is the first international special committee under the Global Sustainable Transport Innovation Alliance. At the opening ceremony, CEEC, along with several other leading industry companies, jointly released the "Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Industry Development Initiative."
Leaders from the Ministry of Transport and other relevant organizations attended the launch ceremony. CEEC stated that the committee's establishment aims to integrate the power of the industrial chain and build an ecosystem of "technological innovation, industrial synergy, and value sharing" to provide a "China solution" for the low-carbon transformation of the global aviation industry. As the lead organization, CEEC will coordinate with all partners to advance innovation across the entire SAF industry chain, accelerate cost reduction and efficiency gains, increase production capacity, and promote the transition from policy support to market-driven development.
Attendees noted that the committee will undertake the mission of integrating global resources and overcoming industrial bottlenecks. The initiative calls on all parties in the industry to cooperate, use technological innovation as a driver, and jointly build a sustainable ecosystem to push the SAF industry towards market-based self-reliance.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration, China Energy News)
