Hydrogen
Overview
Hydrogen is an increasingly important piece in the decarbonisation puzzle. Industrial players are seeking ways to take carbon emissions out of their hydrogen production processes, while green hydrogen producers see the gas as a viable outright alternative to hydrocarbons.
Future production routes range from methane reformation with carbon capture to pyrolysis, waste gasification and electrolysis, powered by renewable energy or fossil fuels. Combinations of processes and energy being used to produce hydrogen presents existing users of industrial heat and key chemicals a challenging landscape to navigate.
The Argus Hydrogen and Future Fuels service has been designed to provide industrial power, chemicals and energy users with crucial information to help them make well informed decisions. It covers the upstream for projects, midstream for transportation and storage, and downstream for ammonia and methanol. It also covers the latest technological developments and policy news on hydrogen from across the globe.
Latest hydrogen news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global hydrogen industry.
Germany passes law to speed up H2 permitting
Germany passes law to speed up H2 permitting
Hamburg, 26 February (Argus) — Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has passed the "hydrogen acceleration law" that is intended to speed up infrastructure build-out. The Bundestag voted in favour of the law on 26 February, including some additions put forward by its economy and energy committee. The text designates hydrogen production plants, pipelines, import and storage facilities and dedicated electricity transmission lines as being of "overriding public interest". This gives such infrastructure priority in cases of conflict with other rules, for instance those related to environmental disputes or building regulations. Facilities will also benefit from shorter permitting deadlines, partly enabled by increased digitalisation. Germany's government had put forward the text in late 2025 . The Bundestag's economy and energy committee added a clause to also include projects for production of hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The law has been several years in the making, having first been proposed by the previous government before its successor pushed it ahead with some changes. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU consults on state aid, including for hydrogen, CCS
EU consults on state aid, including for hydrogen, CCS
Brussels, 25 February (Argus) — The European Commission is consulting on updated rules to assess whether EU states have properly followed the bloc's state aid laws. The commission aims to adopt the rules, which also lay out conditions for state aid for climate mitigation, before the current ones expire on 31 December 2026. The "more streamlined" rules, proposed under the EU's general block exemption regulation (GBER), also aim to exempt certain state aid from prior notification and commission approval. For climate aid, under €30mn ($35mn) per firm and per project will be exempt from EU notification and approval. But the rule does not apply to aid for investments in equipment or machinery using fossil fuels including natural gas. For state aid to investments for hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels, the aided fuels must be either renewable fuels of non-biological origin or low-carbon fuels as defined by EU law. And investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) or use (CCU) has to be for a complete CCS and/or CCU chain. Aid intensities shall not normally exceed 5pc of costs for decarbonising existing installations. But higher aid intensities of up to 60pc for hydrogen, or 45pc for energy storage and CCS, are allowed for investments, notably if cutting greenhouse gas emissions of a technical unit by at least 90pc. The consultation runs until 23 April. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Germany to include CCS-based H2 in 'acceleration law'
Germany to include CCS-based H2 in 'acceleration law'
Hamburg, 25 February (Argus) — German projects for production of hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) are set to benefit from faster permitting under the "hydrogen acceleration law" that could be passed on 26 February. Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, will vote on the law on 26 February — the final step before it could enter into force. The Bundestag's economy and energy committee has made some additions to the government's text from late 2025 . These include a clause that would add CCS-based hydrogen production projects to the infrastructure covered by the law. Only electrolytic hydrogen production and production from biogenic waste was covered in the government's version. The committee also proposed to add import infrastructure for power-to-liquid fuels, such as synthetic aviation fuels (e-SAF) to the list of eligible infrastructure. The government's text covered only import terminals for hydrogen, ammonia, methanol and liquid organic hydrogen carriers. Infrastructure covered by the text will be designated as being of "overriding public interest". This status gives them priority in cases of conflict with other rules, for instance those related to environmental disputes or building regulations. Facilities will also benefit from shorter permitting deadlines, partly enabled by increased digitalisation. Besides production plants and import terminals, the law also covers storage sites, pipelines and dedicated electricity transmission assets. Germany's coalition of conservative CDU/CSU and social-democratic SPD has repeatedly stressed a willingness to also support CCS-based hydrogen, in addition to renewable hydrogen. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
German heating proposals 'jeopardise climate targets'
German heating proposals 'jeopardise climate targets'
Berlin, 25 February (Argus) — Germany's proposed new heating law will jeopardise the country's climate targets in the building sector, environmental groups and energy associations have warned. The law, proposed yesterday evening by ruling parties the CDU/CSU and SPD, would include a rising green gas or green oil quota, termed "bio-stairs", to enable households to stick with gas or oil heating systems. The so-called buildings modernisation act will ensure that "new heating systems will be predominantly CO2-free in future", the parties said. Economy and energy minister Katherina Reiche of the CDU said the proposals offer "free choice of heating" compared with the legislation that they will replace. The buildings energy act passed under the previous Greens-led economy ministry includes a mandatory 65pc renewables share for new heating systems. The proposed new rules call for a 1pc admixture of carbon-neutral fuels from 2028, with new gas and oil heating systems to use at least 10pc of the equivalent biofuel from 2029. The quota would then rise in three stages until 2040. The text mentions biomethane, hydrogen, synthetic fuels and bio-oil as potential fuels to meet the quotas. For hydrogen, it suggests an openness to various production pathways, specifically renewable hydrogen, hydrogen made from natural gas with carbon capture and storage or through pyrolysis, and waste-based hydrogen. The parties expect savings of 2mn t CO2 equivalent (CO2e) by 2030 through these measures. The CDU/CSU and SPD will present the final details of the proposed system in the summer, by which point they aim to have a government draft passed by parliament, with the law scheduled to enter force on 1 July. Existing funding programmes will continue until at least 2029. Critical thinking Environmental group DUH's managing director Barbara Metz said scrapping the 65pc renewables rule will make climate neutrality in the building sector "effectively unattainable". Metz flagged a recent high administrative court ruling calling for more climate action , particularly in the country's buildings and transport sectors. The CDU/CSU and SPD have stressed that the targets under Germany's climate action law will continue to apply. Should an evaluation in 2030 show that the building sector is not meeting its target, "corrective measures will be taken", they said. But allowing gas and "even" oil heating systems to be installed with initially "relatively low" biofuel content, while at the same time abolishing the 65pc requirement, would jeopardise Germany's climate targets, energy and water association BDEW managing director Kerstin Andreae said. And "ambitious" green fuel quotas will be needed to have an emissions-saving effect, but such high quotas will in turn drive up heating prices, penalising tenants in particular, think-tank Agora Energiewende's Julia Blaesius warned. Green fuels are "scarce" and it remains unclear how demand for them will develop, she said. The CDU/CSU and SPD paper argues that gas and oil suppliers already offer tariffs with an organic component. And the carbon price under Germany's domestic carbon market — expected to be replaced by the future EU emissions trading system for the buildings and transport sectors (ETS 2) from 2028 — does not apply to the climate-friendly fuel component, which will have a cost-cutting effect, they said. Germany's buildings sector emitted around 109mn t CO2e last year, according to federal environment office UBA. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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