EU to Accelerate Renewable Hydrogen Review

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April 29, 2026

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(Global e-Fuels) The EU Commission plans to bring forward the review of renewable hydrogen from July 2028 to the second quarter of 2026. In a 22 April plan called AccelerateEU, the Commission said that “the slower than expected ramp up of the hydrogen market” is posing problems due to the US-Iran war. A leaked draft scheduled the review for June. The review was brought forward following complaints from member states and industry over the complexity of the 2023 rules. According to Fuel Cell Works, only four member states have succeeded into translating the rules into reality for industrial and transport use.

A public consultation on “the potential introduction of alternative approaches” to low-carbon electricity from nuclear power plants in the production of hydrogen is also expected by the end of June. READ MORE

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EU Plans Early Review of RFNBO Hydrogen Rules According to Leaked Action Plan (Fuel Cells Works)
EU hydrogen scheme reveals stark demand gaps as producer interest surges (The Brussels Times)
Renewable hydrogen (European Commission)
EU confirms early green H2 rules review, e-fuel support (Argus Media)
European Commission confirms early review of RFNBO hydrogen regulations (Hydrogen Insight)
AccelerateEU to unleash hydrogen with commitment to RED III Delegated Act review (Hydrogen Europe)

Excerpt from Fuel Cells Works: The move reflects relentless pressure from member states and industry to soften the RFNBO rules, which critics say have made European green hydrogen projects commercially unviable and are actively slowing sector growth

The European Commission appears ready to admit that its green hydrogen rulebook needs fixing — and it is no longer willing to wait until 2028 to do it.

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It is a significant retreat. The RFNBO delegated acts, adopted in June 2023, set out detailed and contested rules governing when electricity used in electrolysis can be considered genuinely renewable — and therefore when the resulting hydrogen qualifies as green under EU law. The three core criteria — additionality, temporal correlation, and geographical correlation — have drawn sustained fire from producers, member states, and industry groups who argue the rules are too complex, too rigid, and too slow to allow the sector to scale.

The pressure has been building for months. As recently as March 2026, five European countries — Austria, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland — jointly urged the Commission to delay the deadlines for the additionality and temporal correlation requirements in the RFNBO delegated act, citing a disconnect with market reality. That lobbying push followed earlier moves from the European Parliament. The Parliament had already pressed the Commission to revise the strict RFNBO rules, seeking more investment-friendly guidelines.

At the national level, the fractures have become harder to ignore. Germany moved to effectively ditch the RFNBO label in a domestic hydrogen policy overhaul, pledging equal support for all low-carbon hydrogen rather than limiting backing to the narrower EU renewable definition.

The Commission's push also comes against a backdrop of near-universal member state failure to implement the rules in the first place. By November 2025, only four of the EU's 27 member states — Romania, Czechia, Slovakia, and Lithuania — had managed to transpose the RFNBO mandates into national law for both transport and industrial use, with only Finland and Denmark additionally implementing the transport-related elements.

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Related Stories Recently Highlighted at FuelCellsWorks.com (2025–2026):

Austria, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Poland Urge Delay to RFNBO Hydrogen Rules Deadlines FuelCellsWorks — March 2026
EU RFNBO Rules Divide Hydrogen Industry: An Overview FuelCellsWorks — October 2025
Germany Revamps Hydrogen Policy, Scraps RFNBO Label FuelCellsWorks — September 2025
EU Parliament Pushes for Flexible Green Hydrogen Rules FuelCellsWorks — June 2025
Renewable Hydrogen Coalition Urges EU to Act on RFNBO Flexibility and Funding to Meet Hydrogen Goals FuelCellsWorks — December 2025

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Excerpt from The Brussels Times: The European Commission said it has closed the first round of its Hydrogen Mechanism, a scheme designed to connect companies planning hydrogen projects with potential buyers through the EU Energy and Raw Materials Platform.

The mechanism allowed future hydrogen producers to gauge demand for specific projects and identify potential offtakers without running separate procurement processes, the Commission said in a release on Wednesday.

A total of 265 supply opportunities from different hydrogen projects were registered, covering renewable and low-carbon hydrogen and hydrogen-based products.

On the buyer side, 45 offtake projects were registered and expressions of interest were submitted for 87% of the supply opportunities.

The Commission said the matching phase has now finished and it is up to participating companies to contact each other directly outside the mechanism to discuss potential deals.

What was offered and where

Hydrogen-related supply opportunities included projects linked to renewable or low-carbon ammonia (47 projects), methanol (37), e-SAF (14) and e-methane (18), the Commission said. (e-SAF refers to synthetic aviation fuel produced using low-carbon energy.)

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The Commission said it is now considering next steps for the Hydrogen Mechanism, including how to support infrastructure development. READ MORE

Excerpt from Argus Media: The commission will also "further clarify" methodologies for using renewable hydrogen and biomass together as feedstocks for e-SAF production, while maintaining "ambitious sustainability criteria, including additionality, accurate lifecycle emissions accounting and the avoidance of double counting".

The commission is weighing greater support for SAF through the ETS "in terms of volume and duration", and will explore "an analogous mechanism" for EU-produced SMF. It will continue to back the Early Movers Coalition in organising the announced €2bn ($2.35bn) double-sided e-SAF auction and "encourage further participation by member states".

The text also reaffirmed plans to launch a consultation by 30 June on a draft methodology for "alternative approaches" to recognising nuclear electricity in hydrogen and derivative production. This was already set out when the commission in 2025 finalised the low-carbon hydrogen delegated act, which does not include a specific pathway for nuclear-based power purchase agreements. A final assessment is due by 1 July 2028, although the exact timeline remains unclear.

Hydrogen and derivative projects may also benefit from the wider ETS review. The commission plans to scale up clean energy financing through the €100bn Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, funded by 400mn ETS allowances, and will introduce an "investment booster" aimed at energy-intensive industries. READ MORE

Excerpt from Hydrogen Insight: The review is announced in the new AccelerateEU energy action plan, which has been primarily drawn up to tackle the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis READ MORE

Excerpt from Hydrogen Europe: Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, commented: “The ongoing crises have once again put a spotlight on Europe’s volatile and costly energy dependencies and reemphasised the importance of growing our own domestic fuels and fertiliser markets. Today’s AccelerateEU plan will help this objective, especially the planned Q2 review of the RED3 Delegated Acts, which will decrease hydrogen production costs and allow the industry to contribute to Europe’s resilience and sustainability goals.”

Hydrogen Europe commends the Commission on its swift response to the ongoing energy crisis. It is high time the EU invests in its own domestic production of liquid fuels and today’s communication is a good step towards that. Recognising hydrogen’s role in the solution will mean the sector can help mitigate the dire cost and supply issues for important products like jet fuel through the production of e-fuels.

The announced targeted review of the RED III Delegated Acts before the original 2028 timeframe is welcomed enthusiastically by the industry, which will hopefully see the grandfathering periods for both additionality and hourly correlation pushed back to 2035. This would lead to significant cost reductions in clean hydrogen production for many countries, with some like Germany – with high demand but suboptimal production conditions – saving up to €3 per kilogram of hydrogen produced. This would contribute to an increased supply of homegrown, affordable, and sustainable fuels in Europe.

Building on this and in view of the current and future needs of Europe, it is important to ensure that the upcoming Electrification Action Plan will include actions to facilitate the fast development of power grids, ensure priority access for electrolysers, and focus on good design that will exploit the full potential that electrolysers can offer to our flexibility challenges.

Europe must do what is necessary to decouple its economy from fossil fuels wherever possible, to insulate us from their volatility and create a resilient, sustainable, and affordable society for all Europeans.

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