Advisory
Public Policy Consulting
Independent advisory on European hydrogen policy and regulation - for developers, investors and industry bodies who need to know not just what a rule says, but what it means for a specific project's timeline, financing and eligibility.
What this covers
Regulatory & policy tracking
Structured monitoring of EU delegated acts, national hydrogen strategies and subsidy schemes, translated into what changes for a specific project or portfolio - not a general newsletter.
RFNBO / additionality eligibility review
Assessing whether a project's supply and offtake structure will satisfy renewable hydrogen additionality, temporal and geographic correlation rules, now and as the transition rules tighten toward 2029.
Stakeholder & political risk mapping
Identifying which EU, national and regional actors actually decide a project's fate, and where the political risk sits - permitting, state aid clearance, or end-use controversy.
Market-entry & funding strategy
Matching a project or portfolio to the right funding instrument - Hydrogen Bank auctions, Innovation Fund, national CCfDs, IPCEI - and building the case for it.
Scenario & forecasting briefings
Short, decision-ready briefings connecting a policy development to its likely effect on project economics and timelines, for investment committees and boards.
Policy landscape, in brief
The headline instruments most engagements end up referencing:
10 + 10 Mt
EU REPowerEU 2030 ambition
The EU's REPowerEU plan set a headline ambition of 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen production plus 10 million tonnes of imports by 2030 - a target most independent analysts now regard as unlikely to be met in full.
European Commission, REPowerEU (2022)
€720m+
European Hydrogen Bank auctions
The EU Hydrogen Bank has run multiple pilot auctions awarding fixed premiums per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced, aiming to close the cost gap with fossil-based hydrogen without picking winners on technology.
European Commission, Innovation Fund
Up to $3/kg
US 45V production tax credit
The US Inflation Reduction Act's 45V credit offers up to $3 per kilogram for the cleanest hydrogen, restructuring the global investment map and pulling some European project sponsors toward the US instead.
US Inflation Reduction Act (2022)
2% by 2034
FuelEU Maritime's e-fuel sub-mandate
FuelEU Maritime and the aviation-side ReFuelEU set escalating renewable and low-carbon fuel targets for shipping and aviation, with a specific reserved sub-target for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs, mostly hydrogen-derived e-fuels) from the early 2030s - one of the clearest demand-pull mechanisms currently in EU law.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 (FuelEU Maritime)
Stakeholder map
Every engagement starts by mapping who actually decides - and who can delay - a given project or policy file. This is the standing map we work from and adapt per client.
EU institutions
European Commission - DG ENER & DG CLIMA
Drafts and implements the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Market Package, delegated acts on additionality/RFNBO rules, and administers the Innovation Fund and Hydrogen Bank auctions.
European Parliament (ITRE Committee)
Co-legislates on energy and industry files; committee reports and amendments are the earliest public signal of where thresholds and timelines will land.
ACER / ENTSOG
Regulate cross-border tariffs and network planning for the emerging hydrogen transport system, including the Ten-Year Network Development Plan.
National & regional
National energy & economy ministries
Own domestic hydrogen strategies, state-aid-notified subsidy schemes (e.g. CCfDs, H2Global-style auctions) and permitting reform - the layer where most delay actually happens.
Transmission system operators
Plan and build repurposed and new hydrogen pipeline corridors; their published network development plans are a primary source for realistic infrastructure timelines.
Regional 'Hydrogen Valley' clusters
Sub-national coalitions (ports, industrial clusters, regional governments) bundling production, offtake and infrastructure into a single funding application - often the actual delivery vehicle behind a national headline target.
Industry & finance
Project developers & utilities
Take on construction and offtake risk; their FID decisions - not ministerial announcements - are the real leading indicator tracked project-by-project on the Hydrogen Tracker.
Industrial offtakers (steel, chemicals, refining)
Steel, ammonia and refining companies are the demand side whose offtake agreements (or lack thereof) determine whether a production project is bankable.
Project finance & development banks
Commercial lenders, the EIB and national promotional banks assess bankability against exactly the policy and delivery risk this consulting practice is built to de-risk.
Hydrogen Europe & national associations
Industry associations that lobby on delegated acts and publish project pipelines - useful for cross-checking announcements, but not a substitute for independent verification.
Civil society & research
Think tanks & research institutes
Bodies such as Bruegel, Agora Energiewende and Fraunhofer ISE publish the underlying cost and scenario modelling most policy positions are ultimately argued from.
Environmental & consumer NGOs
Shape the political feasibility of additionality rules, import strategy and end-use prioritisation (e.g. opposing hydrogen for home heating) - a live political risk for any project banking on a specific end use.