ICIS – EUROPEAN HYDROGEN WEEK: Relaxation of RFNBO rules could reduce cost of production by €1-2/kg
BRUSSELS (ICIS)–Speaking at a press briefing during European Hydrogen Week 2025 in Brussels on 30 September, electrolyzer manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Nucera CEO Werner Ponikwar said that a relaxation of the EU’s renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) rules could shave off €1/kg from the cost of production.
This was a sentiment echoed by Germany utility RWE Hydrogen Generation COO Sopna Sury, who said that regulation relaxation would reduce the cost by €1-2/kg “easily”. She said that current RFNBO rules are “suffocating”.
Ponikwar said that a relaxation of the rules would help European hydrogen production to become globally competitive, which would require a cost in the range of €3-4/kg.
This compared to renewable hydrogen price midpoints assessed by ICIS for European markets ranging €9.50-11.00/kg, including transportation of the molecule.
He pointed to RFNBO temporal correlation rules that, from 2030, will require that the renewable electricity used for production must be generated at the same time as the RFNBO, on an hourly basis.
He said, highlighting that the intermittent availability of renewable power, in combination with temporal correlation rules, means that RFNBO producers would,
We all know that during the night, the sun doesn’t really shine
“be left with a system that will only run maybe 50% of the time”.
Such a utilisation rate, namely 50% of the potential hours of the year, is consistent with market participant views when speaking to ICIS about production conditions and trade.
Ponikwar said this is a highly uncommon load restriction for energy intensive industries,
You need to be able to run an electrolyzer 24/7 and this is also how they are made.
Discussing load hours with ICIS, sellers have regularly cited the need for 80-90% utilisation of an electrolyzer in order to recover investment costs.
Industry association Hydrogen Europe CEO Jorgo Chatzimarkakis emphasised that the industry urgently needs a refreshed hydrogen strategy from the EU by early 2026, not the postponed target of late 2026.
He called for an early adoption protection mechanism to give early investors clarity and safety that their investments are protected.
One model is Germany’s €24 billion amortisation account for the construction of its pipeline networks
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ICIS – EUROPEAN HYDROGEN WEEK: Relaxation of RFNBO rules could reduce cost of production by €1-2/kg, source
