Brussels has launched a public consultation, open until 23 November, to update the 2020 EU hydrogen strategy. Priorities include supply chain competitiveness, investment and the role of imports.
-By Laura Contemori
EU hydrogen strategy: Commission launches public consultation
The European Commission has opened a public consultation ahead of a new EU hydrogen strategy, aimed at revising the framework established in 2020. The consultation opened on 26 October and will remain open until 23 November.
In the document accompanying the consultation, Brussels acknowledges that the production and use of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen are progressing more slowly than expected, despite the regulatory and financial measures already introduced.
High costs and insufficient demand
The EU currently consumes between 7 and 8 million tonnes of hydrogen annually, most of which is produced from fossil fuels and used primarily in refineries and ammonia production.
According to the Commission, between 3 and 4 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen will be needed by 2030 to meet the EU’s consumption targets.
The main obstacles include high production costs, insufficient demand and investment uncertainty. The Commission also points to a shortage of long-term offtake agreements, delays in implementing EU targets and difficulties in developing transport and storage infrastructure.
The challenges facing the sector are also highlighted in the 2025 report by ACER, the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators. In 2024, installed electrolyser capacity in the EU increased by 51% to 308 MW, but remained well below the 6 GW target set for 2024 and the 40 GW target for 2030.
The average production cost of renewable hydrogen stood at €8 per kg, approximately four times that of conventional hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.
According to ACER, the cost gap and delays in transposing EU legislation into national law continue to hinder market development. Electricity is another major cost factor: excluding network tariffs, electricity supply can account for up to 50% of renewable hydrogen production costs.
The agency considers it essential to reduce regulatory risks and accelerate the allocation of funding to the most advanced projects to support the sector’s growth.
On the financing front, the European Commission has already allocated more than €20 billion to hydrogen through various programmes, although support measures still need to be implemented more rapidly.
Hydrogen Europe: hydrogen must become a strategic pillar of a resilient energy system
According to Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, the European association representing the interests of the hydrogen industry and its stakeholders, the revised strategy must reflect the changes that have taken place since 2020 and the difficulties encountered by the sector.
“The 2020 strategy and the REPowerEU targets were a commendable demonstration of ambition and optimism on the part of the Commission in seeking to build and scale up an entirely new sector with enormous potential for decarbonisation, resilience and industrialisation.”
Since then, however, several factors have slowed momentum: two wars and the binding targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) introduced under the RED III directive, which Chatzimarkakis believes make the 2020 targets extremely difficult to achieve.
Chatzimarkakis adds that the sector continues to expand despite falling short of its initial targets. Hydrogen Europe expects installed capacity to exceed 1 GW by early 2027. A further 3.7 GW of capacity is currently under construction, with commissioning expected by 2030.
“With grid management costs projected to reach €26 billion annually by 2030, the new EU hydrogen strategy must recognise hydrogen as a strategic pillar of a resilient and affordable energy system,” he adds.
He concludes that “electrification cannot be considered a success if the costs of managing its consequences are ignored.”
Priorities for the new EU hydrogen strategy
“Renewable hydrogen, low-carbon hydrogen and their derivatives could play an important role in replacing fossil fuel-based inputs in specific industrial processes where decarbonisation through direct electrification is difficult, such as refining, steelmaking or chemical production,” states the European Commission’s consultation document.
The strategy will also need to address costs across the supply chain, investment support and infrastructure development. Other priorities include strengthening European production and defining the role of imports in diversifying supply sources.
The document also refers to research and innovation, skills development and emerging sources, including natural hydrogen.
Aligning the strategy with the EU’s 2040 climate targets
The revision forms part of preparations for the EU’s energy framework for the next decade and will be developed in parallel with the renewable energy framework for 2040.
The Commission also links hydrogen deployment to reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and strengthening European industrial competitiveness.
According to the indicative timetable outlined in the document, the new strategy is expected to be presented in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The public consultation is open to citizens, businesses, institutions and interested organisations.
