Regulatory Update: Low-Carbon Hydrogen Rules
Source: In Search of the Real Price of Blue Hydrogen
📢 Regulatory Update: Low-Carbon Hydrogen Rules
The European Commission plans to finalize the Delegated Act for low carbon hydrogen in the coming months, with implementation planned before the end of the year.
At the same time, growing concerns remain about the viability blue hydrogen. This is confirmed in the recent report by the Green Hydrogen Organization: “In Search of the Real Price of Blue Hydrogen”, available via this link.
✅ Key Takeaways from the report:
📌 Low-carbon hydrogen – not proven at scale
- No current projects meet the emissions criteria of the EU, US, UK, Japan, or Korea.
- True low-carbon production would require 95%+ carbon capture and permanent, verifiable CO₂ storage
📌 Carbon capture performance is inconsistent
- Among 16 reviewed CCS projects, none have consistently captured more than 80% of CO₂ emissions.
📌 High uncertainty = risky pricing assumptions
- Unlike green hydrogen projects, carbon capture assumptions are not validated by real-world performance.
- Volatile gas prices and gaps in life-cycle emissions reporting make pricing blue hydrogen highly speculative.
☑️ CONCLUSION: clarity, predictability, and consistency in definitions and requirements will be essential to build trust and attract investment in low-carbon hydrogen pathways.
➡️ Source: Commission’s draft rules make low-carbon hydrogen ‘practically impossible’, say stakeholders