French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a sweeping overhaul of Europe’s hydrogen framework, urging regulatory simplification, European preference rules, and new financing to compete with heavily subsidised rivals.

Speaking at an EU leaders’ summit in Antwerp on Wednesday (11 February), Macron said Europe had fragmented the hydrogen market “by design” through complex regulations shaped by internal divisions among member states over national energy policies.

He argued existing rules – like renewable power sourcing requirements for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) – have created unnecessary complexity and slowed market development.

Under the RFNBO rules, only closely linked and matched renewable power can be used to produce certifiable green hydrogen, with nuclear power ineligible.