EU Council weakens hydrogen targets

Council agrees non-binding goals for renewable fuels of non-biological origin in transport and industry

The Council of the EU has adopted a negotiating position on the Renewable Energy Directive that targets a 2.6pc share of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) in transport by 2030. RFNBOs consist mostly of renewable hydrogen and hydrogen-based synthetic fuels. The Council also agreed that 35pc of the hydrogen used in industry should come from RFNBOs by 2030 and 50pc by 2035. Both targets are “indicative” rather than “binding”—meaning there is no legal recourse if they are not met. Both had been binding under the initial European Commission proposal and have been comprehensively diluted, according to Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of industry group Hydrogen Europe. “Shifting from bindin