Renewable hydrogen: European Commission launches consultation on two proposals of delegated acts

The European Commission opened on 23 May 2022 a public consultation on two proposals of delegated acts clarifying EU rules applicable to renewable hydrogen under Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. Both proposals aim at completing the European Commission’s overall proposal for a regulatory framework for renewable hydrogen.

Directive (EU) 2018/2001 sets for the transport sector a separate target of renewable use of 14%. Fuel suppliers can use renewable transport fuels (both liquids and gases) of non-biological origin to meet this target. The first proposal to which the consultation relates, covers Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) and sets the criteria for products that fall into the “renewable hydrogen” category.

Directive (EU) 2018/2001 establishes rules to help the European Union to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement. The second proposal to which the consultation relates, contains a methodology to assess greenhouse gas emission savings and puts forward a detailed scheme to calculate the life-cycle emissions of renewable hydrogen as well as recycled carbon fuels to meet the greenhouse gas emission reduction threshold set in the Directive 2018/2001.

The text prosposals are open to feed back until 17 June 2022, which will be published on the above mentioned webpages.

After the consultation period, the European Commission will propose a final text to the European Parliament and the European Council, who will exercise a two-month scrutiny period over the document before its final adoption by the Commission.

Feel free to contact us if you have questions regarding the renewable energy regulatory framework.

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