The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against 26 EU member states after they failed to fully implement rules governing the bloc’s hydrogen infrastructure market.
Only Italy notified Brussels that it had fully transposed the EU Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Directive by its 5 August deadline, leaving rules governing hydrogen pipelines, network access, tariffs, and infrastructure operators across the bloc unimplemented.
The 26 member states will have two months to respond to the Commission’s letters of formal notice and complete their transposition. Failure to do so may see the executive issue a reasoned opinion.
Adopted in 2024, the directive forms part of the EU’s efforts to create a functioning hydrogen market by setting rules for how dedicated pipelines and other infrastructure should be operated, accessed, and regulated.
It is also intended to give developers and customers greater certainty over how hydrogen can move between production, storage, and use as new infrastructure is built and existing gas networks are repurposed.
Despite the delays in transposing the rules, various member states are pressing ahead with hydrogen network construction. Segments of Germany’s 9,000km hydrogen core network have already been completed. The first 32km of the Dutch hydrogen backbone went into operation in May.
