Production of hydrogen
Green hydrogen as an energy source of the future
In particular hydrogen produced from green sources can contribute significantly to decarbonising the economy and thus to the success of the German energy revolution because all electricity used must come from renewable sources and, consequently, no CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere. Companies generating electricity from renewable sources will be involved in the production of green hydrogen to the same extent as suppliers or operators of electrolysis equipment or of entire power-to-x systems.
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Our lawyers have identified the following legal issues surrounding the production of hydrogen:
Legal issues relevant to technology suppliers:
Protecting intellectual property (Questions about patenting)
Controlling access to proprietary technology
Distribution of IP rights under a cooperation scheme
Antitrust issues to be observed in particular when cooperating with competitors
Subsidies available for the development of technologies
Special safety rules to be observed
Standards applicable to technologies that are used on a large scale for the first time
Legal issues relevant to operators of electrolysis plants:
Criteria for selecting sites for constructing electrolysis plants
Permit/approval procedures to be completed; permit vs. approval; requirement for environmental impact assessments; involvement of the public into permit/approval procedures
Approval requirements applicable to the extraction of water for electrolysis
Special requirements applicable to the operation of electrolysis plants at sea near offshore wind power generation plants
Safety/security requirements to be observed
Subsidies available for the construction of plants
German and, if applicable, EU subsidy programmes
Contracts with technology suppliers
Contracts with plant builders
Contracts with electricity suppliers
Contracts with hydrogen offtakers
Green certification of hydrogen produced; certifying bodies and authorities
Liability for the certification risk, i.e. for the risk of hydrogen not being sufficiently green; plant operators’ liability for this risk and possibilities of shifting it off by contract, e.g. to electricity suppliers or hydrogen offtakers
Responsibility for applicable taxes and levies
Available exemptions from, for example, the statutory tax to promote renewable energy sources [EEG-Umlage]
Apportionable costs
Right of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory connection and access to the hydrogen network to distribute hydrogen produced in the market