The European Commission has released long-awaited documents with rules for hydrogen

The delegated acts lay down the rules and definitions for the production of renewable hydrogen in the EU.

The hydrogen sector received a definition of renewable hydrogen from the European Commission. This is needed to expand the entire hydrogen sector and help achieve the REPowerEU and Fit For 55 targets. As part of these policies, hydrogen aims to decarbonise industry and transport in Europe and beyond, and is also intended to help increase energy self-sufficiency by 2030 by producing 10 million tons of pure hydrogen and importing the same amount.

The two delegated acts set out the definition of renewable hydrogen, the rules for its production and the methodology for calculating emissions.

The first act lays down the rules for the production of hydrogen using electricity from renewable sources of non-biological origin. The main problem is the principle of "additionality", which is intended to ensure that production does not burden the electricity grid and that fluctuations in the supply and demand of renewable energy do not occur. However, these strict rules may slow down the potential for green hydrogen to spread in the long run. The act also takes into account current investment obligations and expects that industries that plan to gradually introduce hydrogen into their operations will find it difficult to adapt to the new rules. For that reason, they will not apply for most operations until 2028.

The second act sets out the methodology for calculating emissions from renewable fuels of non-biological origin. The methodology also considers greenhouse gas emissions during the entire life cycle of fuels, including emissions at the beginning of production, emissions related to electricity consumption from the grid, from processing and emissions related to the transportation of these fuels to the final consumer.

You can find more information on the website of the European Commission.