Saudi ACWA Power, UAE's Masdar join industry call to preserve EU green hydrogen targets

By Zawya

By Anoop Menon

Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power and Abu Dhabi-based Masdar have joined more than 260 companies and industry organisations urging the European Commission to retain binding renewable hydrogen targets beyond 2030, warning that weakening the mandates could undermine investment commitments and future project development.

The appeal, made in a letter dated 19 October 2026 by a coalition of companies and industry associations which includes the Brussels-based Hydrogen Council, comes amid concerns that changes to the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) could weaken demand for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs), including renewable hydrogen and its derivatives.

India’s ACME, which is developing a green hydrogen project in Oman’s Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZAD), is listed as a signatory to the letter.

Other key signatories with projects in MENA region include Shell (Oman and Egypt); CIP – Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (Morocco), EDF Energy / EDF Renewables (Egypt and Oman); ENERTRAG (Egypt); Engie (Oman and UAE); European Energy (Egypt); Fortescue (Morocco and Egypt); Hynfra (Oman, Egypt and Jordan); IGNIS P2X (Morocco and Tunisia); Intercontinental Energy (Oman); Phelan Green (Egypt); Smartenergy (Egypt); and TEAL Mobility (Oman and Egypt)

The signatories warned that relaxing the targets could threaten more than €30 billion in committed investment across 15 projects identified as particularly exposed to a policy rollback, according to the letter posted on Hydrogen Council’s website.

According to the industry coalition, Europe has attracted more than €15 billion in committed investment in hydrogen end-use applications, with investment rising 35 percent over the past year.

More than 4 gigawatts (GW) of electrolysis capacity is currently under construction, while meeting existing RED III targets by 2030 could generate a further €50 billion to €60 billion in investment opportunities, the coalition said.

The letter, addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera and Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, calls for maintaining binding renewable hydrogen targets while improving the regulatory framework to support project delivery.

The coalition said policy changes could affect companies that have committed capital on the basis of existing EU legislation, potentially weakening demand certainty for renewable hydrogen projects and their international suppliers.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, said weakening the targets would undermine confidence among European and international companies investing in projects designed to comply with EU renewable hydrogen requirements.

“This is a test of Europe’s credibility. Weakening the renewable hydrogen targets now would change the rules mid-game,” he said.

Ivana Jemelkova, CEO of the Hydrogen Council, said maintaining binding targets beyond 2030 would demonstrate Europe's commitment to providing a predictable investment environment.

The coalition also acknowledged the need to improve RED III implementation and remove regulatory obstacles, but argued that such reforms should not involve dismantling existing targets.

For international hydrogen developers and exporters, the outcome of the EU's policy discussions could influence long-term investment decisions and the development of projects targeting European industrial and transport markets.

In July 2024, Zawya Projects had reported that Abu Dhabi-listed Fertiglobe secured a green ammonia offtake agreement with Hintco in Germany through the first H2Global pilot auction for renewable ammonia, funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). Fertiglobe is owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which holds an 86.2 percent majority stake in the fertilser firm.

The $8.5 billion Neom green hydrogen project is in the post-construction commissioning stage, with commercial operations are set to start in 2027, ACWA’s CEO had said in an August 2026 earnings call, according to a report by industry news portal Energy Intelligence. In February 2025, ACWA and Germany’s SEFE signed an MOU to establish a hydrogen bridge between Saudi Arabia and Germany, with an initial target of supplying 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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