Clean Hydrogen NECP Playbooks for EU Member States

The document argues that clean hydrogen should be treated as a 'precious molecule' and prioritised for 'no regrets' hard-to-abate industrial sectors rather than being deployed indiscriminately. It recommends that EU Member States move beyond a sole focus on renewable ('green') hydrogen to include other low-carbon pathways, such as nuclear ('pink') and natural gas with carbon capture ('blue'), to avoid resource constraints. The guide emphasises locating production close to end-users to minimise transport inefficiencies and suggests that hydrogen in transport be limited to heavy-duty trucking, aviation, and shipping, while light-duty vehicles should prioritise electrification. Finally, it advises leveraging EU and national support mechanisms to fund 'champion' projects across the entire value chain.

• Analysis of draft NECPs shows that while 23 out of 24 countries intend to use clean hydrogen, only eight are open to low-carbon production beyond renewable ('green') hydrogen, and many plans contain unrealistic production and electrolyser targets.
• Clean hydrogen should be prioritised for 'no regrets' sectors where it is essential for industrial processes and other decarbonisation options are not feasible, specifically crude oil refining, ammonia production, methanol production, and steel manufacturing.
• In the transportation sector, clean hydrogen is recommended for maritime shipping (via low-carbon ammonia), aviation (for bio-SAF and synthetic SAF), and long-haul heavy-duty trucking, while light-duty vehicles should focus on electrification.
• To avoid resource constraints and competing demands for renewable electricity, Member States should adopt an 'optionality approach' that includes all truly low-carbon pathways, including nuclear energy and natural gas with carbon capture.
• Due to the difficulty of transporting hydrogen, production should be sited as close to consumption as possible, with pipelines identified as the most cost-effective transport method for necessary movements.
• Member States should identify 'champion' projects and ensure public funding is available for all truly low-carbon hydrogen forms, rather than restricting support to 'green' hydrogen based on colour coding.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2024). Clean Hydrogen NECP Playbooks for EU Member States. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/26143906/necpplaybook_h2.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Clean Hydrogen NECP Playbooks for EU Member States. 2024. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/26143906/necpplaybook_h2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Clean Hydrogen NECP Playbooks for EU Member States |date=February 2024 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/26143906/necpplaybook_h2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2024clean, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Clean Hydrogen NECP Playbooks for EU Member States}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/26143906/necpplaybook_h2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }