Electrolyser OEMs Call on EU to Ease RFNBO Hydrogen Rules
Europe’s leading electrolyser manufacturers have jointly urged the European Commission to make the Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) hydrogen framework more flexible, warning that current rules are stalling projects and jeopardising EU hydrogen targets.
In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and DG Energy, signatories including Siemens Energy’s Anne-Laure de Chammard, Bosch’s Stefan Hartung, and ITM’s Dennis Schulz said that rigid rules on additionality, spatial, and temporal correlation are causing cancellations and undermining investment decisions.
Under existing regulations, from 2028 electrolyser operators must source power from new renewable assets within the same grid region and align hydrogen production with renewable output on an hourly basis. Industry leaders argue these provisions are too strict compared with global competitors.
The letter recommended revising the additionality principle, extending exemptions, retaining the grandfathering clause, and easing matching rules to allow weekly, monthly, or daily correlation rather than hourly. These adjustments, they said, would help unlock demand through full implementation of RED III and ensure Europe remains competitive.
“Unless these rules are simplified, only a handful of small projects will reach final investment decision,” the letter stated. It also noted that Europe has missed its 2024 target of 6GW installed electrolysis capacity, with less than 1GW deployed despite OEMs scaling up manufacturing capacity from 1GW to 10GW annually.
The European Parliament has previously raised concerns that current regulations are hindering green hydrogen scale-up and keeping costs high. At the same time, some stakeholders caution that relaxing the framework could weaken certainty for investors and projects.
