European Commission urged to preserve 2025 hydrogen rules
Stakeholders press Commission to keep hydrogen rules stable
A coalition of green organizations and producers has called on the European Commission to resist pressure to re-open the new regulatory package that took effect in 2025, including Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2359.
Supporters of maintaining the current text say rushing changes would erode the legal clarity that firms rely on when making long-term investment decisions for hydrogen projects.
They single out proposed moves to hasten review of rules covering additionality and the requirements linking renewable electricity to precise time and place — arguing such changes should wait until the scheduled 2028 reassessment.
Their letter warns that weakening those criteria could have a cascading effect: lower investor certainty, slower project financing, and a muddled pathway for producing genuinely low-carbon hydrogen at scale.
From a market perspective, the 2025 regulatory package provides a predictable benchmark for offtakers and financiers; altering it prematurely would inject policy risk into nascent supply chains.
The groups also highlight operational concerns: if grid-related matching rules are loosened, producers may increase reliance on fossil-backed power at certain hours, complicating grid balancing and emissions accounting.
Rather than accelerate change, signatories recommend sticking to the original timeline so the 2028 review can draw on more market data and pilot outcomes across member states.
They frame their appeal as protecting both climate ambition and the commercial conditions necessary for rapid hydrogen deployment, stressing that regulatory certainty shortens the path from planning to commissioning.
The message is both technical and strategic: fine-tuning later, with evidence, beats making early amendments that could slow scale-up.
If the Commission heeds the call, stakeholders expect steadier capital flows into electrolysis, clearer RFNBO (renewable fuels of non-biological origin) supply chains, and fewer inconsistencies between national support schemes.
If it does not, the letter claims, market fragmentation and added compliance complexity would likely follow — outcomes that would raise costs for buyers and slow overall deployment rates.
The organizations provided a joint letter and urged the Commission to use the planned 2028 milestone to assess performance and adapt rules based on observed market behavior.
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