EU Council weakens hydrogen targets
Council agrees non-binding goals for renewable fuels of non-biological origin in transport and industry
The Council of the EU has adopted a negotiating position on the Renewable Energy Directive that targets a 2.6pc share of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) in transport by 2030. RFNBOs consist mostly of renewable hydrogen and hydrogen-based synthetic fuels. The Council also agreed that 35pc of the hydrogen used in industry should come from RFNBOs by 2030 and 50pc by 2035. Both targets are “indicative” rather than “binding”—meaning there is no legal recourse if they are not met. Both had been binding under the initial European Commission proposal and have been comprehensively diluted, according to Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of industry group Hydrogen Europe. “Shifting from bindin
Also in this section
5 December 2025
European Commission highlights rapid growth of Chinese production this year, as it retains strict procurement rules in latest European Hydrogen Bank subsidy auction
2 December 2025
Oil major cites deteriorating demand and a planning debacle as it abandons one of UK’s largest blue hydrogen projects
1 December 2025
Project at Emden in northwest Germany due online in 2027, but wider ramp-up of clean hydrogen sector in Germany will require overhaul of government policy, company warns
25 November 2025
The northwest African country’s vision of integrating green power, molecules and steel is alive and kicking, and serves as a reminder of hydrogen’s transformative potential






