European Commission executive vice-president Frans Timmermans agrees that accelerating permitting is a top priority
Permitting and regulation still a challenge for EU hydrogen
Complex regulatory environment slowing development of projects, industry players tell conference
Europe’s permitting and regulatory framework is one of the biggest hurdles to hydrogen projects, senior industry executives told the recent World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam. “On the regulation side and legislation, we have our Renewable Energy Directive, the delegated acts, and [the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism]—you name it. Somehow in Europe, we are world-class [in making] it really complex and difficult for both customers and producers,” says Axel Wietfeld, hydrogen CEO at Germany’s Uniper. “We know how to handle hydrogen safely and we want to make sure it is widely accessible for use” Wietfeld, Uniper “And our experience is it just takes so long, the application process it
Also in this section
14 May 2025
Defining moment for US hydrogen sector as House Republicans seek termination of green tax credits
13 May 2025
Existing specifications have been a good starting point for standardisation of hydrogen quality, but they need rethinking—a 99.5 mol-% specification is a promising candidate
12 May 2025
The sector needs a standard covering hydrogen quality for the entire value chain, but no single hydrogen quality covers the needs of all stakeholders
9 May 2025
Hydrogen quality is an increasingly important area for the sector. Though well-established standards are in place, they typically cover only certain parts of assets and value chain
