Green hydrogen costs could be almost halved in Germany through changes to EU and national regulations: RWE

RWE has released a position paper arguing that the cost of green hydrogen in Germany could be nearly halved through a few targeted changes to EU and national regulations. According to the utility, renewable hydrogen (RFNBO) is expected to cost around €11/kg by 2030 under the current legal framework, compared to approximately €3/kg for grey hydrogen produced from unabated natural gas. The paper outlines that with regulatory adjustments, the cost of green hydrogen could fall to below €6/kg, making it far more competitive. One major potential saving—about €2/kg—comes from abolishing the “restrictive criteria” in the EU Delegated Act defining RFNBOs. These criteria include temporal correlation rules, which require hydrogen to be produced using renewable electricity generated within the same hour, and additionality rules, which mandate that electricity come from new renewable projects from 2028 onward. RWE argues that these Delegated Act rules add unnecessary costs because the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) already provides adequate incentives for renewable hydrogen production. The position paper quantifies the per-kilogram savings for each proposed regulatory change, underlining that reforming the framework could make green hydrogen substantially cheaper and more commercially viable in Germany’s energy market.