The so-called RED II – European Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 – forms the basis for the EU Commission’s promotion of renewable energies and the achievement of European climate targets.

It is very comprehensive and deals with the sustainable production of electricity, heat and fuels. Since hydrogen is mainly used in the transport sector and there were no specific regulations for electrolytic hydrogen in 2018, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1184 was amended in February 2023. This lays down detailed rules for the production of liquid or gaseous renewable fuels of non-biogenic origin for the transport sector.

Unfortunately, this directive is often used in insufficiently informed discussions – even at specialist conferences – to answer the question: ‘What is green hydrogen?’