Press Release

Brussels, 22 April

Today, the European Commission published its AccelerateEU plan which aims to reduce energy costs and short-term price volatility in Europe. The plan recognises the urgency of the task ahead and the importance of hydrogen and its derivatives to accomplishing its stated aims.

Crucially, the AccelerateEU explicitly acknowledges the role of hydrogen as a clean, homegrown source of energy to replace oil and gas, a process which the Commission also says must be accelerated. Furthermore, it commits to a “targeted review of the production criteria” – namely the RED III Delegated Acts defining renewable hydrogen – in light of the “slower than expected ramp-up” of the sector. This review is set to take place in Q2 2026.

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.

For more information:

• European Commission press release: Commission proposes actions to protect Europeans from the fossil energy crisis and accelerate the shift to clean, homegrown energy
• AccelerateEU plan: AccelerateEU to strengthen EU energy resilience
• Hydrogen Europe position paper: Hydrogen for an energy resilient Europe