In a letter addressed to senior European Commission officials, the lobby group framed green hydrogen as a pillar of industrial sovereignty, and not just a decarbonisation tool.
“If Europe fails to scale up renewable hydrogen, it risks losing an entire sector, forfeiting competitiveness in key industries, and diminishing its sovereignty in strategic technologies,” it said.
RHC stressed policymakers should now focus on implementing renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) targets at a member state-level.
These include the ambitious Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III) 2030 mandates of at least 42% of green hydrogen used in industry and 1% of energy used in transport, as well as quotas for synthetic aviation fuels.
The letter argues “green lead markets” should be used to support those targets, through “ambitious” public procurement quotas for products made with green hydrogen, like flat steel used in automotive manufacturing and construction.
It also calls for mandatory product labelling to distinguish green hydrogen-based goods from fossil alternatives, proposing a sliding carbon dioxide performance scale, with top classifications linked to an RFNBO requirement.
Beyond demand creation, the coalition backs the introduction of carbon contracts for difference to bridge the cost gap with fossil fuels and create investment certainty in upstream value chains.
The group also supports the Commission’s consideration of ‘Union-origin’ requirements for electrolysers. RHC argued these should be designed to foster a full European manufacturing ecosystem rather than just final assembly.
The IAA, which is due to be released this month, falls under the Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal, which aims to strengthen the bloc’s competitiveness and accelerate transition and innovation.
Echoing themes in the Draghi report, Brussels is attempting to balance industrial decarbonisation with mounting pressure to shield heavy industry from low-cost global competitors.
While many in the hydrogen sector argue the energy carrier has a role to play in securing that competitiveness, many industries warn that without trade protections against low-cost exporters, the cost could be too high to bear.
The price is wrong: why green hydrogen can’t make Europe competitive
Europe’s industrial sectors are struggling against the competition, and clean hydrogen could also be a casualty.
While hydrogen is touted by some as the answer to Europe’s competitiveness crisis, the reverse may prove true: Europe’s lack of competitiveness could stop hydrogen in its tracks.
Over a year on from the Draghi report on EU competitiveness, and despite a commitment from the Commission to “restore European dynamism and growth,” there is little tangible progress.
In a recent follow-up to the report, Mario Draghi said the bloc’s response must break “long-standing taboos” arising from economic nationalism and protectionism…
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