14 February 2023 (Lloyd's List) - EUROPEAN Commission guidelines to define what constitutes renewable hydrogen have been welcomed by industry groups which suggest the move could kickstart investment in the sector by providing certainty. The commission adopted rules that ensure renewable hydrogen is produced from “additional” renewable electricity to avoid creating extra demand for limited supplies of renewable energy, according to a statement. The criteria will now be submitted to the Parliament and the Council for approval. The commission expects renewable electricity demand to rise sharply around 2030 to meet its REPowerEU target of producing 10m tonnes of renewable fuels. “A far-from-perfect regulation is better than no regulation at all. At last, there is clarity for industry and investors and Europe can kick-start the renewable hydrogen market,” Hydrogen Europe chief executive Jorgo Chatzimarkakis said. Hydrogen Europe is an association representing the interests of the hydrogen industry and its stakeholders. Green hydrogen and derived fuels such as ammonia and methanol are expected to play key roles in shipping’s decarbonisation. The European Union will consider hydrogen produced with renewable electricity as renewable liquid and gaseous fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) as well as other green hydrogen-derived e-fuels such as ammonia and methanol. The European Parliament proposed a 2% target for renewable marine fuels from 2030 in its FuelEU Maritime package, which will go through trilogue negotiations in the coming weeks before being approved by member states. The commission faced criticism from some industry groups for relaxing rules to reward early movers in grey and blue hydrogen production and for defining nuclear energy as renewable if it ensures 70% less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil natural gas across its full lifecycle. Transport & Environment has criticised the decision to relax rules for hydrogen production that allow projects starting before 2028 to use electricity produced from coal and gas. “The commission surprisingly chose to qualify as ‘renewable’ hydrogen produced from a low-carbon electricity grid using nuclear electricity,“ the lobby group said. The commission’s criteria for renewable fuels will apply to imports, as it plans to introduce a certification scheme to ensure that the producers in third countries adhere to the same rules. The EU hydrogen strategy targets 6,000 MW of electrolysers powered by renewable electricity by the end of 2025, the commission said in a press release.