Billed as the EU’s response to growing competition from cheaper overseas imports, the IAA will introduce Made in Europe and low-carbon requirements for public procurement and funding schemes.
Electrolysers have been included alongside other net-zero technologies such as batteries, solar panels and wind turbines, which could be covered by Made in Europe criteria.
The proposal suggests future European Hydrogen Bank auctions will need to use electrolysers originating in the EU, including stacks.
The move comes amid growing concerns that Europe could lose further clean-tech manufacturing capacity to China, which already dominates sectors like solar panels and is quickly scaling electrolyser production.
“Facing unprecedented global uncertainty and unfair competition, European industry can count on the provisions of this Act to boost demand and guarantee resilient supply chains in strategic sectors,” said European Commission industry chief Stéphane Séjourné.
The proposal also introduces low-carbon requirements for steel used in public procurement contracts. This is widely seen as a key way to unlock demand for hydrogen-based steel, which faces a high cost premium compared to conventional production.
Public procurement in the EU is worth roughly €2 trillion annually, giving governments significant leverage to shape demand for clean technologies.
“Strategic use of public funds will support investments in the EU, thereby strengthening access to low-carbon products and safeguarding competitiveness,” the Commission said.
Other measures aim to streamline and digitalise permitting procedures for industrial projects. Additionally, the IAA could introduce “Industrial Acceleration Areas” to “enable industrial symbiosis” and encourage clean tech manufacturing clusters.
The move signals a shift from the EU’s traditional focus on climate policy towards a more explicit industrial strategy tied to the energy transition.
The measures follow calls from hydrogen lobby groups to protect domestic manufacturers and provide more offtake certainty for green hydrogen project developers.
Europe’s 2022 target of producing 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 would require vast electrolyser capacity. Several manufacturers say they scaled up electrolyser production in anticipation of demand that has yet to materialise.
Less than 1GW of electrolyser capacity is currently installed in the EU, well below the bloc’s interim target of 6GW by 2024 and its longer-term goal of 40GW by 2030.
This is a breaking news story. H2 View will update this page shortly.