Report on permitting requirements (D2.2)

D2.2 Report on permitting requirements Ref. Ares(2024)3887934 - 30/05/2024 D 2.2 Report on permitting requirements DELIVERABLE TYPE Report MONTH AND DATE OF DELIVERABLE M12, 31/05/2024 WORK PACKAGE WP 2 LEADER ENVI DISSEMINATION LEVEL Public AUTHORS María Panadero (CNH2) Gema Rodado (CNH2) PROGRAMMA HORIZON EUROPE GRANT AGREEMENT 101111933 START Jun.2023 DURATION 24 Months 3 Contributors NAME ORGANISATION María Panadero Gema Rodado CNH2 Marek Kruszewski Magdalena Raczyńska Żaneta Kłostowska RIGP Simon Habran TWEED Miroslava Tzekova Vasimir Radulov BH2C Peer Reviews NAME ORGANISATION Mattia Miglietta ENVI Ilaria Schiavi ENVI Revision History The information and views set out in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union, neither the European Union Institutions and Bodies nor any person acting on their behalf. VERSION DATE REVIEWER MODIFICATIONS v1 14/05/2024 Mattia Miglietta (ENVI) MODIFICATIONS v2 27/05/2024 Mattia Miglietta, Ilaria Schiavi (ENVI) FINAL REVIEW 4 Index of Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................10 2 Map of the Legislative Framework .........................................................................................................10 2.1 State of the Art of the National Transposition of the Directives at EU level for Permitting 10 2.2 Mechanisms for permitting in HYPOP countries .........................................................................16 2.2.1 Italy ................................................................................................................................................................ 16 2.2.1.1 General regulations and Hydrogen Technologies in Industrial Sector ....................16 2.2.1.2 Hydrogen refuelling stations and mobility ....................................................................26 2.2.1.3 Stationary applications including the residential sector .............................................27 2.2.1.4 General Safety Aspects for Permitting in Italy .............................................................30 2.2.2 Spain ............................................................................................................................................................. 35 2.2.2.1 Common permitting procedures .....................................................................................36 2.2.2.2 Distinctive features for each stage of H2 supply chain ...............................................37 2.2.3 Belgium ......................................................................................................................................................... 40 3 Permitting Legislation in Demo projects and H2 projects: evidences of application ..................43 3.1 Italy.........................................................................................................................................................43 3.1.1 New guidelines for homologation of hydrogen fuelled trains........................................................... 43 3.1.2 Hydrogen Valley in Lombardia Region (H2iseo) .................................................................................. 44 3.1.3 Use of Hydrogen in the Industry sector ................................................................................................ 45 3.1.4 Hydrogen production, distribution and storage for industry and mobility in Sardinia Region ... 45 3.2 Insights of the Permitting requirements for some regions of Spain: evidences from H2 projects ..............................................................................................................................................................48 3.2.1 Iberdrola plant in Castilla–La Mancha region ....................................................................................... 48 3.2.1.1 Land use ...............................................................................................................................49 3.2.1.2 Environmental processing .................................................................................................49 3.2.1.3 Municipal licensing .............................................................................................................51 3.2.1.4 Industrial security ...............................................................................................................51 3.2.2 Palma de Mallorca – Green Hysland project.......................................................................................... 52 3.2.2.1 Lloseta photovoltaic park and electrolysis plant ..........................................................53 3.2.2.2 H2 pipeline and injection station.....................................................................................54 3.2.2.3 Bus fleet................................................................................................................................54 3.2.3 Andalucía - Guide for hydrogen installation applications ....................................................................... 55 5 3.2.3.1 Renewable electricity generation ....................................................................................56 3.2.3.2 Connection to the electricity grid ...................................................................................56 3.2.3.3 Water supply .......................................................................................................................57 3.2.3.4 Hydrogen production (electrolysers) ..............................................................................57 3.2.3.5 Injection into the natural gas transmission and distribution network .....................59 3.2.3.6 Gas service stations ...........................................................................................................59 3.2.3.7 Hydrogen storage ...............................................................................................................60 3.2.3.8 Hydrogen transport............................................................................................................60 3.3 Belgium ..................................................................................................................................................61 3.3.1 The project Materhyum with the society BeBlue and CRMgroup ................................................... 61 3.3.2 New hydrogen refuelling station for practical training on hydrogen cars ...................................... 61 4 EU-13 countries: Permitting requirements and H2 projects .............................................................64 4.1.1 EU-13 countries involved in HYPOP project: Poland and Bulgaria ................................................. 64 4.1.1.1 Poland ...................................................................................................................................64 4.1.1.2 Bulgaria .................................................................................................................................70 4.1.2 Other EU-13 countries .............................................................................................................................. 71 5 Frontrunner countries: Permitting requirements and H2 projects ..................................................77 5.1 France ....................................................................................................................................................77 5.2 Germany ................................................................................................................................................80 5.3 The Netherlands ..................................................................................................................................82 5.4 Switzerland ...........................................................................................................................................83 6 Comparison of Legislative Frameworks, Permitting requirements and Evidences ......................86 7 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................87 8 Appendix. Regulations used in Śrem project (Poland). .........................................................................89 9 References ....................................................................................................................................................92 6 Index of Tables Table 1. Permitting EU Directives and national transposition for HYPOP countries ...........................11 Table 2. Production threshold. .........................................................................................................................18 Table 3. Productive activities defined within DPR 01/08/2011, no. 151 ..............................................32 Table 4. Different classes for Walloon region ..............................................................................................40 Table 5. Different classes for Brussels region ...............................................................................................40 Table 6. Different classes for Flanders region ..............................................................................................41 Table 9. International and European Standards. ..........................................................................................62 Table 10. European directives on safety. .......................................................................................................63 Table 11. Parameters relevant for approval in Germany. ...........................................................................82 Table 12. Regulations used in the project......................................................................................................89 Index of Figures Figure 1. Iberdrola plant in Puertollano (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain). Source: https://www.iberdrola.com ...............................................................................................................................48 Figure 2. Green Hysland project in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Source: https://greenhysland.eu .....................................................................................................................................52 Partners short names ENVI Parco Scientifico Tecnologico Per L’ambiente Environment Park Torino Spa IMI Institute For Methods Innovation IME Fundacion IMDEA Energia APRE Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea CNH2 Centro Nacional Del Hidrogeno RIGP Regionalna Izba Gospodarcza Pomorza CLUSTER TWEED Cluster Tweed BH2C Balkanski Vodoroden Klaster 7 Abbrevations ATEX Explosive Atmospheres CAR High-Efficiency Cogeneration Plants CEF Connecting Europe Facility CNG or GNC Compressed Natural Gas Dx.y Deliverable number "y" of work package "x". EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FC Fuel cells FCEV Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle HRS Hydrogen Refuelling Station IEA Integrated Environmental Authorization (AIA in Italy, AAI in Spain) IED European Directive on Industrial Emissions IPPC Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control LNG Liquified Natural Gas LPG Petrol Liquified Gases micro-CHP Cogenerators (Combined Heat and Power) P2H Plastic-to-hydrogen PNIEC Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate QRA Quantified Risk Analysis RES Renewable Energy Source SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment TEN-E Trans-European Networks for Energy TEN-T Trans-European Transport Network TSO National Transport System Operator WP Work package ANSFISA (Italy) National Agency for Railway and Road and Highway Infrastructure Safety APPA (Italy) Provincial Agency for Environmental Protection ARPA (Italy) Regional Agency for Environmental Protection ASL (Italy) Local Health Agency AU (Italy) Single Authorization CTR (Italy) Regional Technical Committee DM (Italy) Ministerial Decree DPR (Italy) Decree of the President of the Republic ISPRA (Italy) Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research MiTE (now MASE) (Italy) Ministry of Ecological Transition (now Ministry of Environment and Energy Safety) NRRP (or PNRR) (Italy) Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan PAS (Italy) Simplified Authorization Procedure PAUAR (Italy) Single Accelerated Regional Authorization Procedure for sectors of strategic importance PAUR (Italy) Single Regional Authorization Measure PCT (PTRC / PTCP) (Italy) Territorial Coordination Plan (regional/provincial level) PRG (Italy) General Regulatory Plan PTM (Italy) Metropolitan Territorial Plan 8 PTR (Italy) Regional Territorial Plan PUA (Italy) Single Environmental Procedure PUC (Italy) Municipal Urban Plan SCIA (Italy) Certified Notification of Start of Activity SSPC (Italy) Simple Systems of Production and Consumption SUAP (Italy) Single Desk for Productive Activities TICA (Italy) Integrated Text of Active Connections - TICA TUE (Italy) Building Law, Consolidated Building Act LISTA (Spain) Law to Promote the Sustainability of the Andalusian Territory LSE (Spain) Electricity Sector Law LSH (Spain) Hydrocarbons Sector Law MITECO (Spain) Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge RD (Spain) Royal Decree RDL (Spain) Royal Legislative Decree 9 Executive Summary This deliverable is part of WP2 “Stakeholders’ requirements’ analysis”, whose aim is to map the different countries’ instruments and procedures linked to hydrogen and fuel cells permitting. Regulations and standards have been studied for several European countries, distinguishing three main groups: the HYPOP consortium countries, the EU-13 countries and the frontrunner countries (France, Germany, Switzerland and The Netherlands). Differences between countries have been observed, since some countries have shown precise hydrogen-related pieces of legislation while in many others no specific regulations have been identified. For example, in Italy the “Reform 3.1 "Administrative Simplification and Reduction of Regulatory Barriers to the Diffusion of Hydrogen" introduced some updates with the aim of speeding up the integration of hydrogen in the national safety regulations and authorization procedures, boosting in that way a wider implementation. In France, an ad hoc law decree (Law-Decree No 2021167 of 17 February 2021 relating to hydrogen) has been published, while in Spain there is only a specific legislation for hydrogen refuelling stations (Royal Decree 542/2020 of 26 May amending and repealing various provisions on industrial quality and safety). At the same time, Poland is still striving to define accurately hydrogen in the legislation. The regulatory gaps are being covered with corresponding existing regulations (legislation for Natural Gas, Chemical Products Storage, Pressure Vessels, etc.). On the other side, some commonalities have been identified, like the application of environmental permitting procedures (usually Environmental Impact Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment or Integrated Environmental Authorisation), deriving from European Directives, and land use/ urban planning. These latter are usually covered by regional or municipal authorities, so there may be differences even within the same country. Safety and people health are also taken into account in many permitting procedures. A review of the current legislation (or the lack of it) has been done, considering also some of the hydrogen projects developed, ongoing or to be developed in each studied country. Both the consortium experiences, the literature available and the contacts expertise have been included with the aim of representing the diverse status of hydrogen technologies implementation and the hydrogen legislative framework throughout the European Union. 16 2.2 Mechanisms for permitting in HYPOP countries 2.2.1 Italy In Italy, the regulatory framework for permitting mainly refers to three main pillars: environment, urban planning/building, and health/safety. The results of this research activity focused on electrolysers, fuel cells, storage systems, and hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS), and the use in new application areas of renewable hydrogen has been taken into account: industry, mobility, and residential. In this complex framework, the analysis developed aims to provide a general overview of each permitting pillar and the expected legislative and regulatory developments in Italy. The construction and operation of a plant require the acquisition of a "permitting package" through the activation of the related procedures. Not all of these authorizations are specific to hydrogen but may concern general aspects, such as construction permits for technical buildings, connections to utility networks and landscape impact, among others. Even if not directly related to hydrogen, these are procedures that can influence the timing of permits acquisition. 2.2.1.1 General regulations and Hydrogen Technologies in Industrial Sector To date, the use of hydrogen and hydrogen technologies in Italy has been mainly linked to chemical processes and to the oil & gas industry but only negligibly to energy use or other end uses sectors. Even if the current regulatory framework described in this section for permitting reflects this prevalent chemical-industrial use, general regulations described for industry sector are also valid for the mobility and residential sectors. In order to meet the different permitting needs for emerging hydrogen applications, within the Italian "Next Generation EU" Plan, some reforms to the environmental, urban planning, safety, and electrical and gas network services authorization framework have been introduced. In particular, Reform 3.1 "Administrative Simplification and Reduction of Regulatory Barriers to the Diffusion of Hydrogen" will include updates to: • Technical safety regulations for production, transport (technical and regulatory criteria for hydrogen in the natural gas network), storage, and use of hydrogen; • Authorization procedures for small-scale hydrogen production plants for electrolysis plants with a capacity of between 1 and 5 MW; • Regulation of the participation of hydrogen production plants in electrical and gas network services with a specific measure for hydrogen; • The initiation of a system of guarantees of origin for renewable hydrogen; • Procedures and/or design and operation criteria for refuelling stations along the TEN-T corridors, highways, logistic hubs, and railway lines; • A ten-year development plan for national gas transmission networks, adopting common Union standards for the transport of hydrogen through existing pipelines or dedicated conduits. To date, the state of implementation includes: 17 • The proposal to amend the current technical standard (Ministerial Decree 18 May 2018 "Technical rule on the chemical-physical characteristics and the presence of other components in combustible gas") submitted to the European Commission on January 26, 2022, along with the accompanying technical report and then issued by the MiTE (now MASE) decree on June 3, 2022. This legislation is relevant in all application sectors as it introduces the possibility of having a blend of up to 2% hydrogen by volume in the natural gas network. • Safety provisions related to production (already implemented through the Technical Rule for Fire Prevention 07/07/2023), transport, and storage of hydrogen (yet to be implemented for cases outside the perimeters of refuelling stations and industrial-scale hydrogen production plants through electrolysis); • In collaboration with SNAM S.p.A. (TSO - National Transport System Operator), are under examination the action plan and the identification of structures where to start preparatory experiments to amend the Ministerial Decree of April 17, 2008, and the Ministerial Decree of April 16, 2008, on technical rules for hydrogen transport in the gas network. The directive to SNAM regarding the use of shared standards for hydrogen transport is being prepared. • Article 38 of Legislative Decree November 8, 2021, n. 199 introduced simplifications for the construction and operation of electrolysers smaller than 10 MW, or installed in industrial areas or as stand-alone units. A part from these updates, the permitting approach in Italy for hydrogen technologies, which can be valid for different sectors, is described below. The main regulations and directives, the authorities involved in the permitting process and the specific references to hydrogen and hydrogen technologies are provided. Environmental permitting In Italy, the main national reference for environmental matters is Legislative Decree April 3, 2006, no.152 and subsequent amendments (Environmental Code). Various constraints of a landscape, acoustic, archaeological, and hydrogeological nature stemming from regional and local urban planning regulations should be considered as well. The environmental permitting procedures, deriving from the European framework, such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA), and their respective suitability assessments are managed by public authorities operating at the national, regional, or local level: • According to article 7-bis, paragraph 4, of Legislative Decree no. 152/2006, at the national level, the competent authority for the activities related to the EIA process is the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, which can work in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture; • At the regional level, according to article 7-bis, paragraph 5, the competent authority for the activities related to the EIA process is the public entity identified according to the provisions of regional laws or the autonomous provinces. In some cases, individual regions can also delegate the role of competent public entity for environmental authorization procedures to Metropolitan Cities (or Provinces). For projects subject to regional EIA, it is necessary to 18 analyze the regional and local laws on environmental, urban planning/building, and health/safety matters. These may have points in common and are generally specific to the characteristics of the territory in which the project is implemented. In general, for cases where the projects under study fall partly within state competence and partly within regional competence, the state procedure prevails. To determine whether a project that includes hydrogen technologies needs to undergo an EIA, a suitability check is necessary. In other cases, the EIA is mandatory from the beginning. The following bullet list is a guidance inside the Italian Environmental Code (Part II): • State-level EIA suitability check (Annex II-bis); • Regional EIA suitability check (Annex IV); • State-level EIA (Annex II); • Regional EIA (Annex III). Facilities for the production of hydrogen through electrolysis for industrial uses, mobility, and residential can be subject to national authority, according to the aforementioned Annex II of the Environmental Code. This regulatory reference defines hydrogen plants as “integrated chemical plants”, i.e., facilities for industrial-scale production through chemical transformation processes of substances, where various production units functionally connected to each other are juxtaposed for the manufacturing of basic inorganic chemical products, with an annual total production capacity per product class, expressed in millions of kilograms, exceeding the thresholds mentioned therein. It should be noted that the thresholds in the table refer to the sum of the production capacities related to the individual compounds listed in the following table. Table 2. Production threshold. Product Class Threshold (Gg/year) j) gases, such as ammonia, chlorine or hydrogen chloride, fluorine or hydrogen fluoride, carbon oxides, sulfur compounds, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen, sulfur dioxide, carbonyl dichloride 100 According to this definition and classification, it might be assumed that hydrogen production plants, as well as hydrogen refuelling stations with onsite production, where the overall annual production capacity per product class (hydrogen plus other substances present in the Product Class) exceeds the threshold of 100 Gg/year (millions of kilograms) and the plant components are functionally integrated, are subject to the state-level Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). For these categories of plant, whose annual production capacity does not exceed the threshold of 100 Gg/year, the responsibility for the related projects is, instead, delegated to the Regions or Autonomous Provinces as reported in Annex III. Regarding the Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA), the European Directive on Industrial Emissions (IED) 2010/75/EU, which repealed and replaced the IPPC directive, was transposed by Italy through Legislative Decree no. 46/2014. It extends the types of industrial activities that must submit the IEA, including hydrogen production plants defined as facilities manufacturing inorganic chemical products. This definition is mentioned in Annex I, point 4.2 of the IED directive and in point 19 4.2 of article 26 of the Italian transposing document (Legislative Decree no. 46/2014). The threshold values mentioned in both documents generally refer to production capacity or yield. Plants producing hydrogen not strictly for industrial purposes but for applications such as mobility, where hydrogen is used as fuel, must follow the European IED directive, which defines the necessary authorizations to reduce emissions from industrial plants. The competent authority involved in granting the IEA for the operation of a hydrogen plant can be national or regional. In particular: • According to article 7, paragraphs 4-bis and 4-ter, projects listed in Annex XII with product class capacity higher than 100 Gg/year are subject to the national IEA procedure. The competent authority issuing the IEA is the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Safety; • Projects listed in Annex VIII that are not also included in Annex XII of the decree and their significant modifications are subject to IEA according to regional and provincial laws. The competent authorities are the Regions and Provinces. These public authorities, both at the national and regional levels, actively collaborate with two entities responsible for ensuring compliance with the objectives of integrated pollution prevention and reduction of productive activities that have been granted the IEA, as regulated by the European IPPC directive. These public entities are: the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) for projects of national competence and the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA)/Provincial Agency for Environmental Protection (APPA) respectively for projects under the competence of Regions and Provinces. Legislative Decree 13/2023, through Article 41 "Simplification for the development of green and renewable hydrogen," further amended Annex II Part II, Legislative Decree 152/2006 by introducing paragraph 6-bis. This paragraph integrates the concept of green or renewable hydrogen by including among the facilities subject to state-level environmental impact assessment (state-level EIA) also the "integrated chemical plants" for the production of green or renewable hydrogen, namely plants for industrial-scale production through chemical transformation processes of green or renewable hydrogen, where various production units functionally connected to each other are juxtaposed. Unlike the previous case, however, environmental legislation does not define threshold values, excluding the possibility that projects for the production of green or renewable hydrogen fall under regional competence. The Ministry of the Environment and Energy Safety, in response to an inquiry, clarified the definition of integrated chemical plant for the manufacturing of inorganic chemical products. Here are the key points to define the cases in which hydrogen projects, according to the Ministry, fall outside this definition and thus fall among the plants subject to regional EIA: • A hydrogen production plant falls within the definition of a chemical plant as there occurs an electrochemical reaction of the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen; • The definition of integrated chemical plant was taken from the guidelines "Interpretation of definitions of project categories of annex I and II of the EIA Directive" and adds, besides chemical conversion, also the need for a functional connection and a physical juxtaposition among the different components of the plant; 20 • The functional connection is present when hydrogen is used to produce intermediate products to the plant's process or as an input material for other units in order to contribute to the final production of a finished product; • There can be an infrastructural connection for energy purposes, but this alone is not sufficient to be considered functional, as the chemical conversion component must always be present; • Having physically juxtaposed units is not generally considered as a necessary and sufficient condition for “functional connection”, as even units far from each other can be connected through pipes and contribute to the production of an intermediate product. A simple hydrogen production plant through electrolysis that supplies downstream uses of the plant such as ovens, road distributors, engines, and turbines does not qualify as an integrated chemical plant for the production of green or renewable hydrogen (paragraph 6-bis of Annex II Part II, Legislative Decree 152/2006) as it does not meet the condition of functional connection with other units of the plant. Within the implementation of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), for those projects considered functional to achieve its objectives, the EIA is assessed at the state level by the PNIEC-PNRR technical commission. Recent updates indicate the following hydrogen projects as a high priority, especially in the EIA phase (Annex I-bis of Legislative Decree 152/2006): • 1.2.3 Production of sustainable fuels: biofuels and advanced biofuels, biomethane and advanced biomethane (including biogas upgrading and BioLNG production from biomethane), syngas, non-biological renewable fuels (hydrogen, e-fuels), recycled carbon fuels; • 1.3.1 Hydrogen production plants; • 1.3.2 Power-to-X plants; • 1.3.3 Hydrogen transport infrastructure; • 1.3.4 Hydrogen storage infrastructure; • 1.4.1 Construction of alternative fuel refuelling stations (for road, air, and naval transport), as well as total or partial renovation of existing facilities including the attached storage, for: a) Electric recharging; b) Hydrogen refuelling (for use with Fuel cells, internal combustion engines, and derived carriers, such as ammonia); • 2.3 High-Efficiency Cogeneration Plants (CAR); • 3.3.1 Interventions for the conversion of existing refineries and new plants for the production of energy products derived from renewable sources, residues, and waste, as well as the modernization and expansion of existing capacity also aimed at the production of nonbiological renewable fuels (hydrogen, e-fuels), recycled carbon fuels. For all the other hydrogen related facilities, the previous rules are still valid. Construction aspects To achieve the objectives of the NRRP, particularly concerning hydrogen, an initial simplification regulation was adopted in 2021 by article 38 of Legislative Decree no. 199/2021, which simplified and regulated the authorization procedures for the construction and operation of hydrogen production plants from electrolysers. After that, article 23 "Provisions concerning the production and consumption of hydrogen from renewable sources, concessions for irrigation use, acceleration of basin plan approval procedures" of the Decree Law April 30, 2022, no.36, in paragraph 5-bis, also 21 included the infrastructure connected to the electrolyser, like compressors and storage and any connection infrastructures to distribution and transport networks, among those authorized according to the procedures indicated below and specified in article 38. Article 38 of Legislative Decree 199/2021 provides four alternative permitting procedures for the construction of electrolysers for hydrogen production and the related infrastructure, including compressors and storage and any connection infrastructures to distribution and transport networks. 1) Electrolysers with a power equal to or less than 10 MW located anywhere. The construction of electrolysers with a power equal to or below the threshold of 10 MW, located anywhere even if connected to existing renewable source plants, authorized or under authorization, constitutes free building activity. Therefore, the issuance of a specific enabling title is not required, except for the acquisition of assent acts, opinions, authorizations, and no objections from territorially competent bodies concerning landscape, environmental, safety, fire prevention, and connection to the electric grid or natural gas network. In this case, the installation is considered as a free building activity, meaning that interventions can be carried out without any enabling title but the prescriptions of municipal urban planning tools and other sector regulations on seismic safety, safety, fire prevention, hygiene, energy efficiency, and protection from hydrogeological risk must be taken into account as well. 2) Electrolysers and related infrastructure located within industrial areas or where industrial plants are located. The construction of electrolysers and connected structures is approved through a Simplified Authorization Procedure (PAS) according to article 6 of Legislative Decree no. 28/2011 if they are located within industrial areas or areas where industrial plants are located, even those plants for the production of energy from renewable sources, whether no longer operational or in the process of decommissioning, whose construction does not involve the occupation in extension of the same areas, nor an increase in the volumes in height compared to the existing situation and that do not require a variant to the urban planning instruments adopted; 3) Stand-alone electrolysers and related infrastructure that do not fall into the previous cases 1) and 2). They are authorized through a Single Authorization (AU) issued: I. by the Ministry of Ecological Transition (now Ministry of Environment and Energy Safety, MASE) through the Single Environmental Procedure (PUA) according to article 27 of Legislative Decree no. 152/2006 when the projects are subject to a state-level EIA based on the thresholds set out in Annex II to the second part of Legislative Decree no. 152/2006; II. by the Regions or Autonomous Provinces in all other cases; 22 4) Electrolysers and related infrastructure to be built in connection with electrical energy production plants from RES They are authorized through a Single Authorization (AU) according to article 12 of Legislative Decree no. 387/2003. This AU is issued: I. by the Ministry of Ecological Transition (now MASE) if functional to plants with a capacity greater than 300 MW thermal or to offshore electric energy production plants; II. by the territorially competent Regions or Autonomous Provinces in cases other than those mentioned in point I. It is important to mention that hydrogen is considered renewable according to the European definition only if the electrolyser producing it is connected to a RES plant. Furthermore, the RES plant must be authorized and become operational within a maximum time limit relative to the connection with the electrolyser. Therefore, within the authorization timelines, this aspect must be taken into account. Based on the current situation in Italy regarding electrolysers, fuel cells, storage systems, and refuelling stations, a general distinction of the different environmental authorization procedures (also linked to urban planning aspects) required for the construction and operation of a plant for industry, mobility, and residential use can be provided: • Single Environmental Measure (PUA) regulated under Article 27, Legislative Decree 152/2006 and subsequent modifications and integrations; • Single Regional Authorization Measure (PAUR) regulated under Article 27-bis, Legislative Decree 152/2006 and subsequent modifications and integrations; • Single Accelerated Regional Authorization Procedure for sectors of strategic importance (PAUAR) regulated under Article 27-ter, Legislative Decree 152/2006 and subsequent modifications and integrations; • Simplified Authorization Procedure (PAS) regulated under Article 6, paragraphs 1 to 10, of Legislative Decree 28/2011; • Single Authorization (AU) regulated under Article 5 of Legislative Decree 28/2011. The first two authorization measures have similar requirements as they collect in a single decree, in addition to EIA and IEA, also: • an authorization regarding the regulation of discharges into the subsoil and groundwater as per Article 104 of Legislative Decree 152/2006; • an authorization concerning the regulation of sea dumping of material resulting from excavation activities and the laying of cables and pipelines at sea as per Article 109 of Legislative Decree 152/2006; • a landscape authorization according to Article 146 of the Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code as per Legislative Decree 22 January 2004, no. 42; • a cultural authorization as per Article 21 of the Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code as per Legislative Decree 22 January 2004, no. 42; • an authorization regarding the hydrogeological constraint as per Royal Decree 30 December 1923, no. 3267, and the decree of the President of the Republic 24 July 1977, no. 616; • a feasibility clearance as per Article 17, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree 26 June 2015, no. 105 (Activities at risk of major accidents – "Seveso III" Directive); 23 • a seismic authorization as per Article 94 of the decree of the President of the Republic 6 June 2001, no. 380. The Single Environmental Measure (PUA) was introduced following Legislative Decree 16 June 2017 no. 104, in implementation of Directive 2014/52/EU, and the competent authority at the national level is the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Safety (MASE). The single measure becomes the Single Regional Authorization Measure (PAUR) when the projects to be evaluated fall under the competence of the Regions and Provinces. When the project falls within regional competence, it is still important to review the authorization framework and the urban planning instruments of the territory where the plant is to be located, which may present additional requirements. Both these authorization measures (PUA and PAUR) allow for the acquisition of environmental authorizations in a single procedure. From the early stages of the authorization procedures, it is necessary to prepare detailed project documentation. The evaluation of information, both at the national and regional and provincial levels, is therefore not uniform across the territory. In specific cases, where it is possible to demonstrate the strategic national interest of the project and if the investments foreseen, both private and public, exceed the amount of 400,000,000 euros, it is possible to follow an authorization procedure involving the territorially competent Region called the Single Accelerated Regional Authorization Procedure (PAUAR). The Simplified Authorization Procedure (PAS) has only recently been associated to hydrogen technologies, in particular electrolysers and connected infrastructures (storage, compressors, and any connection infrastructures to distribution and transport networks). Generally, this authorization procedure applies to the construction and operation of plants powered by renewable sources. It was adopted pursuant to Article 12, paragraph 10 of Legislative Decree 29 December 2003, no. 387, and integrated, for the specific case of electrolysers and connected infrastructures, by Article 6, paragraphs 1 to 10 of Legislative Decree no. 28/2011. In this case, it is the territorially competent Municipality to which the project must be submitted and evaluated. The project proposal must contain a detailed technical report and appropriate design documents, also attesting to the project's compatibility with the urban planning instruments and building regulations in force, as well as compliance with safety and health and hygiene standards. The last relevant environmental authorization measure for hydrogen technologies is the Single Authorization (AU). This authorization measure was also introduced to simplify and promote the use of renewable sources, as regulated under Article 5 of Legislative Decree no. 28/2011 (Directive for the promotion of energy use from renewable sources). The AU authorization is issued by the Region or by Provinces delegated by the Region. In certain cases, where specific thresholds are exceeded, the competent authority shifts to the State. Specifically, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, in concert with the Ministry of Infrastructure, is responsible at the national level for issuing this authorization. The Single Authorization refers both to environmental and urban/building aspects as: • It includes environmental assessments under Title III of Part Two of Legislative Decree 152/2006 (i.e assessment of suitability for EIA and Environmental Impact Assessment EIA); • It constitutes, where necessary, a variation to the urban planning tool; 24 • It can be requested together with the declaration of public utility and the imposition of the constraint preordained to expropriation. Urban planning Along with the environmental authorization framework, there is the urban planning framework. In Italy, planning and protection of the territory fall under national and regional competence and can cover aspects related to building, landscape protection, cultural heritage, and urban planning tools for territory governance. For the approval of a hydrogen project, various potentially existing environmental constraints together with the urban plans, specific to each area of interest, and aimed at protecting and controlling the use of a territory, should also be consulted. The urban planning authorizations required for the building of any facility, including those for hydrogen even if not directly mentioned in programmatic documents, depend on territorial regulatory plans, municipal regulatory plans, and building activity norms. In Italy, Regions and Municipalities have competence in terms of territory governance. This role was conferred by Article 117 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic. This means that Regions have the power to legislate and establish rules for territory governance at the regional level, within a framework of general principles set by the State. Municipalities develop municipal regulatory plans and related technical implementation norms that must incorporate the norms and over-local plans. Generally, the authorization measures necessary to ensure compliance of a project that includes hydrogen technologies are issued by the offices of the territorially competent Municipality. Urban planning and building authorizations result from an evaluation of the project to ascertain its compliance with the contents of the Municipal Regulatory Plan and current regulations. The main national regulatory references that concern urban planning and building aspects are: • Urban Planning Law, Law August 17, 1942, no. 1150 (and subsequent integrations). This regulatory reference provides general indications on the activities of Municipalities in defining the General Regulatory Plan (PRG) and zoning of areas, identification of specific urban standards that report limit values for territory organization; • Building Law, Consolidated Building Act (TUE), Presidential Decree 380/2001, which includes rules, norms, and authorization procedures that must be followed for the realization of building interventions. This is then connected to multiple regional laws and local regulations that have operational character on the specific territory; • Legislative Decree 42/2004, Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code. This regulatory reference for landscape protection is a state competence. At the local level, Municipalities must respect these laws when they draft urban planning instruments and related technical norms. Below are some of the main urban planning instruments that show how in Italy the normative references for urban planning have a hierarchical structure that goes from the broader dimension (regional) to the more local (municipal): 25 • Regional Territorial Plan (PTR) is a regional planning instrument that establishes guidelines for territory development and defines objectives, strategies, and guidelines related to land use, environment, transportation, etc. It is a regional document from which Territorial Coordination Plans derive; • Territorial Coordination Plan (PCT) is an urban planning instrument that can be at the regional (PTRC) and provincial (PTCP) level. These plans concretely translate the strategic and highlevel provisions of the PTR which can further detail and be specific at the provincial and municipal level. Specifically, the Regional Territorial Coordination Plan (PTRC) operationalizes the provisions of the PTR among the provinces, while the Provincial Territorial Coordination Plan (PTCP) is the local counterpart and aims to coordinate and integrate urban and territorial planning within individual municipalities that are part of the province. The PTCP, together with PTR and PTRC, contributes to ensuring coordinated and sustainable territorial planning, promoting the harmonious development of different areas and municipalities within a province. It should be noted that the organization and specificities of territorial plans can vary among different regions and provinces in Italy. These Territorial Coordination Plans may also include Specific Plans for metropolitan areas (PTM). The Metropolitan Territorial Plan (PTM) is an evolution of territorial coordination plans and is designed to manage the specific challenges and opportunities of metropolitan areas (local entities established with the 2001 constitutional reform, Article 114). • General Regulatory Plan (PRG) also known as Municipal Urban Plan (PUC). This is the main urban planning instrument at the municipal level that includes and implements the previous plans. It defines urban planning and building regulations to be observed within the municipal territory for land use, area destination, and infrastructures. In some cases, this plan can be supplemented by a further detailed instrument that applies only to specific areas within the municipal territory named Detailed Plan (PP). This document is crucial for the installation of hydrogen related plants, which must then comply with the criteria defined for these zones in terms of building density, height, distance between buildings, as well as maximum ratios between spaces designated for residential and productive settlements and public spaces, etc. Once the zones of interest for the construction of a hydrogen plant are identified within the Municipality's PRG, the technical implementation norms containing the specific building and urban planning constraints for that zone and the territory of that Municipality are sought. A link between safety authorizations and urban planning ones is provided by the Seveso Directive for the risk of significant accidents. The European directive was transposed in Italy by Legislative Decree June 26, 2015, and Article 22 defines the provisions that the Municipality affected by the Seveso establishment must follow for its territorial planning and control activities. The competent offices of the Municipality where Seveso establishments are located collaborates with the facility manager to consider and assess potential risks functional to the update of the General Regulatory Plan (PRG). The PRG has a ten-year duration, but it can be modified through an urban planning variation, i.e., a modification that may concern, for example, the use destination of the area/zone of specific interest 32 Table 3. Productive activities defined within DPR 01/08/2011, no. 151 Annex I Activities Presidential Decree 151/2011 Hydrogen technology Technical fire prevention rule (reference D2.1) 1 C Facilities and plants where flammable and/or oxidizing gases are produced and/or used with total quantities in the cycle exceeding 25 cubic meters per hour Electrolysers DM 07/07/2023: Technical fire prevention rule for the identification of methodologies for risk analysis and fire safety measures to be adopted for the design, construction, and operation of hydrogen production plants by electrolysis and related storage systems; DM 03/02/2016: Approval of the technical fire prevention rule for the design, construction, and operation of natural gas storage facilities with a density not exceeding 0.8 and biogas storage facilities, even if their density is above 0.8. 2 B Compression or decompression plants for flammable and/or oxidizing gases with a capacity > 50 Nm³/h and up to 2.4 MPa Compressors DM 07/07/2023 (see 1 C); DM 16/04/2008: Technical regulation for the design, construction, testing, operation, and monitoring of works and systems for the distribution and direct lines of natural gas with a density not exceeding 0.8; DM 17/04/2008: Technical regulation for the design, construction, testing, operation, and monitoring of works and plants for the transportation of natural gas with a density not exceeding 0.8. 2 C Compression or decompression plants for flammable and/or oxidizing gases with a capacity > 50 Nm³/h 3 B (Considered only compressed gaseous H2) Storage of compressed flammable gases in mobile containers with an overall geometric capacity from 0.75 to 10 cubic meters Bundles, tube trailers DM 07/07/2023 (see 1 C); DM 03/02/2016 (see 1 C). 33 Annex I Activities Presidential Decree 151/2011 Hydrogen technology Technical fire prevention rule (reference D2.1) 3 C (Considered only compressed gaseous H2) Storage of compressed flammable gases in mobile containers with an overall geometric capacity greater than 10 cubic meters 3 C (Considered only compressed gaseous H2) Facilities for filling compressed flammable gases into mobile containers with a total geometric capacity greater than 0.75 cubic meters Filling of bundles or tube trailers DM 07/07/2023 (see 1 C); DM 03/02/2016 (see 1 C). 4 B (Considered only compressed gaseous H2) Storage of compressed flammable gases, in fixed tanks with a total geometric capacity from 0.75 to 2 cubic meters Buffer tank DM 07/07/2023 (see 1 C); DM 03/02/2016 (see 1 C). 4 C (Considered only compressed gaseous H2) Storage of compressed flammable gases, in fixed tanks with a total geometric capacity greater than 2 cubic meters Storage DM 07/07/2023 (see 1C); DM 03/02/2016 (see 1C). 6 A Transport and distribution networks for flammable gases, including those of petroleum or chemical origin, with a relative density < 0.8 and pressure from 0.5 to 2.4 Mpa Hydrogen pipelines or blending into the methane gas network DM 07/07/2023 (see 1 C); DM 16/04/2008 (see 2B and 2C); DM 17/04/2008 (see 2B and 2C). 6 B Transport and distribution networks for flammable gases, including those of petroleum or chemical origin, with pressure > 2.4 Mpa 34 Annex I Activities Presidential Decree 151/2011 Hydrogen technology Technical fire prevention rule (reference D2.1) 13 C Fixed distribution plants for gaseous fuels and mixed type (liquid and gaseous) Hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) DM 23/10/2018: Regola tecnica di prevenzione incendi per la progettazione, costruzione ed esercizio degli impianti di distribuzione di idrogeno per autotrazione; DM 24/05/2002 e decreti associati: Distributori di gas naturali; DM 30/04/2012: Distributori a carica lenta di gas naturale; DM 30/06/2021, Autotrazione GNL: Distributori di Gas Naturale Liquefatto (GNL) e Gas Naturale Compresso (GNC). 49 A Groups for the production of auxiliary electric power with internal combustion engines and cogeneration plants of total power between 25 kW and 350 kW Fuel cells DM 13/07/2011: Technical rule for fire prevention for the installation of internal combustion engines coupled with electric generators or other operating machines and cogeneration units serving civil, industrial, agricultural, artisanal, commercial, and service activities. 49 B Groups for the production of auxiliary electric power with internal combustion engines and cogeneration plants of total power between 350 kW e 700 kW 49 C Groups for the production of auxiliary electric power with internal combustion engines and cogeneration plants of total power > 700 kW 74 A Plants for heat production fuelled by solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel with a capacity greater than 116 kW and up to 350 kW DM 08/11/2019: Technical fire prevention rule for the design, construction, and operation of heat production plants fueled by gaseous fuels. 74 B Plants for heat production fuelled by solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel with a capacity greater than 350 kW and up to 700 kW 74 C Plants for heat production fuelled by solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel with a capacity greater than 700 kW 35 2.2.2 Spain Spain is advancing towards the implementation of technologies producing hydrogen through electrolysis from renewable energies (such as solar and wind) in various sectors as part of its engagement to environmental sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable gaseous hydrogen produced by feeding renewable electricity into an electrolyser is considered a renewable fuel of non-biological origin. One of the most developed applications for hydrogen in Spain is mobility. Investments are being made in the installation of hydrogen refuelling stations, and in the promotion of hydrogen-powered vehicles, mainly passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles, allowing for the deployment of captive fleets (vehicles with predictable driving and refuelling patterns which tend to spend regular periods of time in a depot). In industry, applications are being explored to use hydrogen as an alternative fuel in production processes that require high temperatures or generate significant carbon emissions. Applications are also being explored for the use of hydrogen fuel cells in residential cogeneration systems. However, the lack of financial support and tax incentives is proving to be a barrier to its widespread adoption, but it is expected to grow as costs decrease and performance improves. A serious problem hindering the expansion of hydrogen as a renewable fuel is the existence of regulatory barriers and gaps in different aspects, such as production, storage, hydrogen refuelling stations, transport, domestic cogeneration, and its injection into the current gas network. Regarding legislation, Spain contemplates four levels of hierarchy: • European legislation, which includes all the directives and legislation set by the EU, common to all the European countries • Spanish legislation, set by the national government in the form of Royal Decrees and other laws. Many of these pieces of legislation consist of the transposition of European directives. • Regional legislation. Since Spain is divided in 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities, many aspects of the legislation are delegated to the autonomous government. Many of the autonomous communities are also divided in smaller regions (provinces), which may also have particular legislation. • Local legislation, which covers the different regulations set for a specific municipality by the corresponding local council (mayoralty and councillorship). Thus, the same project can face different situations depending on the region of Spain (or even the town) where it would be located. In this section a more general view will be adopted, considering only national legislation. More specific cases will be mentioned in the document. 36 2.2.2.1 Common permitting procedures Regardless of the stage or stages of the hydrogen supply chain that a project covers, some procedures must be followed in order to set this project. They are listed here and illustrated with some examples in the following section. Land use Project facilities usually have to be located in land designated as industrial. This designation is carried out by Spatial Development Plans (regional) and General Urban Development Plans (at municipal level). Environmental processing The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is applied to evaluate the environmental repercussions of public and private projects that may have significant environmental impacts. It consists of the following steps: • Preparation of the environmental impact study by the promoter; • Submission of the project and the environmental impact study to public information; • Consultations with the Public Administrations concerned and interested people; • Technical analysis of the file by the environmental body; • Formulation of the environmental impact statement by the environmental body; • Integration of the content of the environmental impact statement into the project authorization by the substantive body. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) aims to evaluate the environmental impact of the implementation of plans and programs. The procedure consists of the following steps • Initiation request; • Prior consultations and determination of the scope of the strategic environmental study; • Preparation of the strategic environmental study; • Public information and consultations with affected public administrations and stakeholders; • Technical analysis of the file; • Strategic environmental declaration. Apart from that, another procedure that the industrial facilities (chemical industry, combustion industry, metal industry, etc.) have to contend with in Spain is the Integrated Environmental Authorisation (IEA), currently regulated by Royal Decree 1/2016. This permit is given by the autonomous communities. As a consequence, each region has different time estimations, responsible organisms or even regional legislation regulating this process, reinforcing the problem of geographical heterogeneity. The steps needed to get this authorisation are the following: • Basic project, which describes the initial situation of the location where the industrial activity will take place, as well as: o Description of activities, facilities, processes and type of product. o Documentation for the control of the safety, health of people or the environment. o Report on the environmental status of the site and expected impacts. o Raw materials, substances and energy generated or used in the facility. 37 o Identification of the sources generating emissions: type and quantities, as well as their effects on the environment. o Technologies or techniques foreseen to prevent, avoid or reduce emissions. o Waste prevention and management measures. o Emission control measures o The authorisation application must be presented to the organism responsible for environment of the corresponding autonomous community. • Urbanistic report, that must be issued by the local council. • In case there is water being discharged to continental waters or to the sea, water and coast legislation must be followed, attaching the corresponding document. In general, documentation required by legislation for the authorisation of discharges must be presented. • Information about confidential data, and compulsory deposits and insurances must be given. • If there are relevant dangerous substances produced or emitted, a base report must be produced indicating the soil and groundwater state previous to the facilities exploitation of the authorisation update. • Non-technical summary for the public information procedure. Once the documentation is presented, a public information period (minimum 30 days) will be opened. 2.2.2.2 Distinctive features for each stage of H2 supply chain Production There is a lack of specific legislation regarding hydrogen production in Spain. Hydrogen production is considered an industrial activity, classified as a chemical industry for inorganic gas production, regardless of the production method, storage capacity, quantity produced, real production uses, or emissions generated. Therefore, according to the Royal Legislative Decree 7/2015, of 30 October, approving the revised text of the Law on Land and Urban Rehabilitation, hydrogen production can only be carried out on land designated as industrial. Current legislation does not differentiate between hydrogen production through electrolysis and methane reforming, which are radically different in terms of operation and emissions generation. It also does not distinguish between small-scale and industrial-scale hydrogen production. This situation discourages the development of environmentally friendly production methods and exacerbates the problems of lack of economies of scale faced by smaller units. This means that small-scale hydrogen production through electrolysis is subject to the same requirements as industrial processes. The absence of clear thresholds distinguishing production quantities hinders the development of small projects and plants, such as on-site hydrogen production refuelling stations and self-consumption systems in the domestic sector. In addition, the permit process is lengthy, costly, and its outcome is uncertain. The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) requires a series of environmental obligations, as well as the implementation of Environmental Impact 38 Assessments under the EIA and SEA directives, which are left to the interpretation of the authorities that transpose and implement them. The IED applies to defined industrial activities that give rise to pollution. It shall not apply to research, development or experimentation of new products and processes. It requires the implementation of environmental assessments under the EIA and SEA Directives. A hydrogen production threshold is needed to simplify small-scale production, and with specific regulations, hydrogen production from electrolysis in small quantities may be exempt from Integrated Environmental Authorization and all associated projects, also being excluded from environmental assessment. Storage As there is no specific regulatory framework for hydrogen, it is considered from a legal and administrative point of view as a flammable and dangerous chemical product. There is also no distinction in the actual uses of hydrogen technologies. Energy use, such as fuel cells, is not differentiated from industrial use, nor is small-scale storage differentiated from industrial-scale storage. Due to this issue, disproportionate requirements and complex procedures related to industrial activity are applied. Specific regulation defining quantitative thresholds for hydrogen storage for several end uses like residential or mobility is necessary. Indeed, storage required for each of these applications can be different. Hydrogen storage is subject to risk assessments through the SEVESO and ATEX Directives, and environmental impact assessments according to the EIA and SEA Directives, resulting in a disproportionate administrative burden for project developers and stakeholders wishing to bring hydrogen applications to market (e.g., hydrogen refuelling stations and micro-cogeneration). This process imposes high costs on operators and further delays the commercial deployment of these applications. The authorities in charge of certifying electric installations under ATEX normative are the certifying bodies. Hydrogen Refuelling Stations For a long time, legislation regarding the design, permits, construction, and operation of hydrogen refuelling stations had not yet been developed in Spain. This constituted one of the difficulties for a potential hydrogen refuelling station operator. RD 919/2006 of 28 July 2006, approving the technical regulation on the distribution and use of gaseous fuels and its complementary technical instructions ICG 01 to 11 only mentioned hydrogen at the annex 1 about the minimum knowledge required to obtain gas installer certification. Nevertheless, this was modified with RD 542/2020 of 26 May amending and repealing various provisions on industrial quality and safety. With this change, hydrogen is included as a fuel in the Supplementary Technical Instruction ITC-ICG 05 on filling stations for gas-fuelled vehicles. Transport Specific service and maintenance requirements and procedures for hydrogen-powered vehicles are defined in guidelines published by manufacturers. Additionally, a limited number of national 39 instructions are issued on this matter. There is a lack of specialized training and maintenance skills among personnel, affecting the service, maintenance, and inspections of hydrogen-powered vehicles. The homologation of FCEVs as cars and vans does not present major difficulties. However, other types of vehicles such as trucks or trains will require a review of the homologation bases due to the previous non-existence of these types of vehicles. There is a regulatory gap regarding the design and homologation of ships and vessels, as there is little experience in this field, and regarding landing and bunkering, as no specific regulation that includes hydrogen storage and use as fuel on board ships has been identified. General rules derived from hydrogen storage are likely to be applied for now. Due to the large amounts of hydrogen required on ships, hydrogen storage facilities are likely to be subject to significant obligations and requirements (e.g., SEVESO). Injection In Spain, pure hydrogen injection is not allowed, only a molar concentration of 5% hydrogen injection into the grid is permitted if it comes from non-conventional sources according to PD-01 "Measurement, quality, and odorization of gas." Some demonstrative projects have investigated power-to-gas applications, but there is no acknowledgment of a specific legal status, leading to a severe lack of regulation. Cogeneration There is no specific procedure for connecting a domestic fuel cell in Spain, implying that the procedure to follow will be the same as for a normal appliance. Due to the lack of experience in this area, delays in the legalization period of these installations may occur. However, connecting fuel cells is equivalent to connecting a conventional boiler. This equivalence should avoid new unnecessary legal and administrative procedures for domestic fuel cells, while also facilitating the work of technicians responsible for their installation. The problem is that fuel cells are not considered cogeneration equipment in the new Royal Decree 413/2014, which eliminates this concept from the already repealed Royal Decree 661/2007, which did consider it. Overall, installations can be carried out by professionals with appropriate qualifications for working with electrical appliances. Connections to gas networks must also be made by trained and qualified installers, and requirements for connecting micro-CHP fuel cells to gas networks are usually stipulated by distribution network operators. In this context, the legislation applied to gas boilers in dwellings (Royal Decree 178/2021, of 23 March, amending Royal Decree 1027/2007, of 20 July, approving the Regulation on Thermal Installations in Buildings and Royal Decree 809/2021 of 21 September, approving the Pressure Equipment Regulation and its complementary technical instructions) could be considered. 40 2.2.3 Belgium As mentioned in WP1, Belgium has several technology champions, production projects and excellent research and development programs. Belgian stakeholders need to submit different environmental and safety permits in different fields (refuelling station, hydrogen storage, production unit of green hydrogen, …). Hydrogen production and storage The permitting process for the development and operation of a hydrogen production plant is different in the Belgian regions. In Flanders there is one “environmental permit” that unifies urban planning and environmental permits. In Wallonia and Brussels there are different permits to handle the spatial and environmental aspects. Environmental permits are a regional competence in Belgium. The three Belgian Regions delegate the responsibility for spatial planning to the regional governments or administrations, the provincial authorities and the municipal authorities. In Flanders the province is playing a role in land use planning and permitting, with specific spatial plans and the responsibility for permitting for Class I installations; in Wallonia and Brussels the municipal authorities hold the full responsibility. The classification of the different hydrogen technologies depends on the expected environmental burden. If there is hydrogen stored within the installation or a hydrogen distribution system, it is always Class I. Class I and II need a permit, for class III a notification is sufficient. The classification is different for each region and the rules are depicted in the 3 following tables: Table 4. Different classes for Walloon region Equipment or activity Condition Permit class IPPC/IED ref. H2 production 1000 ton/year < Rate < 100 000 ton/year 2 24.11.01.01 H2 production < 100 Nm3/h 2 40.20.01.01 H2 production > 100 Nm3/h 1 40.20.01.02 H2 storage < 250 kg 3 63.12.08.04.01 H2 storage > 250 kg 2 63.12.08.04.02 Compressor 2 kW < power < 30 kW 3 40.20.03.02.01 Compressor > 30 kW 2 40.20.03.02.02 Table 5. Different classes for Brussels region Equipment or activity Condition Permit class Section ref. H2 production 1 Nm3/h < rate < 1000 Nm3/h 1B 73-A H2 production > 1000 Nm3/h 1A 73-B H2 storage 300 l < volume < 3000 l 2 72-1A or 74-1A H2 storage 3000 l < volume < 1000000 l 1B 72-1B or 74-1A Compressor Not air compressor 1B 71-C 41 Table 6. Different classes for Flanders region Equipment or activity Condition Permit class Section ref. H2 storage 300 l < volume < 1000 l 3 17.1.2 H2 storage 1000 l < volume < 10000 l 2 17.1.2 In Flanders, land use plans exist on different levels i.e., the region, province, municipality. In principle, there are no general exclusions for hydrogen installations in the regional land use plans. They can be built in industrial, commercial or even residential areas. Safety is the most critical parameter to decide on the possible location: the QRA (“Quantified Risk Analysis”) that is mandatory to obtain the environmental permit is used to decide how many and how close industrial installations can be installed in the different area types. Another requirement is that the function of the installation should be compatible with or related to the other functions in the area, as indicated in the Royal Decree on the organization and the implementation of regional spatial plans (28/12/1972). In other words, hydrogen production and storage as such are restricted to industrial areas; if they are part of a hydrogen refuelling station they can be built in a residential area. The criteria to assess the compatibility with the other functions in the area are described in the Flemish spatial planning codex. Also, in industrial areas compatibility with the functions in the area is required; hydrogen installations are accepted only if they are useful for surrounding companies or functions. Hydrogen refuelling stations A hydrogen refuelling station is a facility where different hydrogen technologies, like electrolysers for hydrogen production, storage systems, compressors etc are integrated. For this reason, the environmental permitting requirements as well as the different land use requirements at regional and local level for hydrogen production and storage technologies can be applied as well to HRS. Compared to other sectors, an additional element that is critical when locating a hydrogen refuelling station in a residential area is the regulation regarding noise. In a residential area (without industry nearby) the allowed noise levels are very low and difficult to comply with for a compressor installation. This is currently also an issue with the installation of service stations with compressed natural gas (this information comes from a stakeholder, DATS24). The typical throughput time of the environmental permitting procedure on itself is limited in time - in Flanders this is 5 months after submission of the request, in Brussels this is 160 days - but the preparation of the request is a very time consuming and costly process because of the lack of specific legislation and available procedures for hydrogen refuelling stations. There is no quick procedure foreseen for temporary or test installations, e.g., mobile refuellers. The same lengthy procedure to obtain an environmental permit is required as for a large-scale fixed installation and this is mandatory for each single location on which the mobile refueller is to be used. 48 3.2 Insights of the Permitting requirements for some regions of Spain: evidences from H2 projects The following description exemplifies the permitting requirements for hydrogen projects in Spain. In particular, insights from the regional permitting requirements in comparison to the overview of national framework (previous section) are shown. 3.2.1 Iberdrola plant in Castilla–La Mancha region Iberdrola has set the largest green hydrogen plant for industrial use in Europe. It is located in Puertollano (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) and is intended to feed the nearby Fertiberia ammonia plant. Its capacities are: • A 100-MW photovoltaic plant; • 20-MWh storage capacity in the form of lithium-ion batteries; • 20-MW electrolysis (one of the largest hydrogen production systems). In Figure 1, a simplified graph of the system is shown. Figure 1. Iberdrola plant in Puertollano (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain). Source: https://www.iberdrola.com 49 The permitting requirements needed for the deployment of this kind of projects in Castilla-La Mancha are detailed below, distinguishing land use, environmental processing, municipal licensing and industrial security. 3.2.1.1 Land use Hydrogen production facilities are usually required to be placed in urban industrial land. In the case of this project, no procedures have been needed since the location on existing industrial land was already considered in its conception. Nevertheless, some legislation that can be useful in this matter is: • Law 5/2020 of 24th of July, of Urgent Measures for the Declaration of Priority Projects in Castilla-La Mancha, which is partially modified by the Legislative Decree 1/2023, of 28th of February approving the revised text of the Law on Spatial Planning and Urban Development. This law enables the deployment of priority projects in rustic land through automatic reclassification and exceptions in terms of maximum occupancy limits and minimum parcel of land. • Spatial planning Law. The article 19 contemplates the possibility of declaring a project “Project of Singular Interest” for being socially or economically interesting. This could lead to facilitating possible expropriations and reducing administrative timeframes. Although these regulatory tools are of an exceptional nature, they are considered very interesting for a hydrogen project related to the generation or use of renewable hydrogen, in addition to the political support that exists nowadays to promote this type of projects. 3.2.1.2 Environmental processing As it occurs in the rest of Spain, the environmental regulations aim to evaluate, prevent and mitigate the possible adverse effects that hydrogen projects could produce to the environment and the public health. Environmental regulation from Castilla-La Mancha is aligned with national and European legislation through the next items: • Law on integrated pollution prevention and control (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2016 of 16th December). Establishes the requirements and procedures for obtaining the Integrated Environmental Authorisation. It will require the preparation of a "Basic Project for the Activity", with a minimum content in terms of a description of the activity and its impact on the safety of people and the environment, location, resources to be used, emissions generated, application of mitigations or "best available techniques", etc. During its processing, an urban planning report must be issued by the municipality in whose territory the installation is located and it must undergo a period of public information and, if discharges are foreseen, a report must be obtained from the corresponding basin management body. 50 o Link for the procedure: https://www.jccm.es/sede/tramite/JB6 • Law 2/2020 of 7th of February, of Environmental Evaluation of Castilla-La Mancha. Sets a frame for environmental impact assessment (EIA) in projects likely to affect the environment, including those related to hydrogen. Key requirements for hydrogen projects under this law include: o Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In the case of projects for the production of electrolytic, photo-electrolytic or photocatalytic hydrogen from renewable sources, apply the "simplified environmental assessment" (article 45 of Law 21/2013, of 9 December, on environmental assessment), which requires a smaller volume of documentation to be submitted and a reduction in resolution times. o Consultation of Public Administrations and interested parties (in the case of simplified processing) or Public Consultation (in the case of ordinary processing). o Environmental Impact Report (simplified processing) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for ordinary processing: Based on the EIA and public consultations, the competent authority will issue a document, which may approve, condition or reject the project depending on its environmental compatibility. • Decree 242/2004, approving the Environmental Assessment Regulation in Castilla-La Mancha: Regulates the specific environmental assessment procedures for the autonomous community, adapting the requirements and procedures to regional particularities. It includes local adaptations, defines regional competences and defines protection measures for certain natural areas. In Castilla-La Mancha, the simplified procedure (mandatory) for obtaining Environmental Impact Assessment consists of the following steps: 1. PROMOTER: The promoter submits a request to initiate an EIA to the “Órgano sustantivo”. In Spain, that term defines the body of the state, regional or local public administration (PA) competent to authorize or approve projects that must be submitted to environmental impact assessment. • Application for initiation of EIA before PA; • Environmental document; • Receipt of fees payment; • Documentation required by sectoral legislation. 2. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (PA): Checks the adequacy of the documentation presented and sends it to the EO. The promoter has 10 business days to correct possible issues. The PA will send it to the environmental organ (EO) within 1 month from receipt of the complete file. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING AUTHORITY (EP): 1) Reception of the file. Start of the EΙΑ procedure. 2) Consult the affected public administrations and interested people (30 business days from receipt to respond). 3) Prepare and submit the environmental impact report (Resolution). 3 months from receipt of the start application and other documentation. 4) If the project generates significant effects on the environment, the project must undergo an ordinary EIA. It can also occur that the project does not have significant adverse effects on the environment. Documentation required: 51 i. Environmental impact report, scope document for the strategic environmental review and consultation reports to promoter and PA. ii. Environmental impact report. 5) Notify the PA and promoter and it will be sent for publication in the Official journal of Castilla-La Mancha (Diario Oficial de Castilla-La Mancha, DOCM) (15 working days). 4. PUBLICATION IN THE DOCM (It will lose validity if the execution of the project or activity has not begun within a period of 4 years, extendable for 2 additional years). 5. PA: Assess whether the authorization of the project or the filing of the file is appropriate (15 business days from the adoption of the resolution of the authorization procedure, the decision is sent to the DOCM) 6. PUBLICATION IN THE DOCM Lastly, with regard to environmental procedures, it should be pointed out that, in the event that a hydrogen production plant or unit is integrated into a facility that already has an integrated environmental authorisation, the Circular Economy Department must be notified in case the thresholds of article 14 (criteria for substantial modification) of Royal Decree 815/2013 of 18 October are exceeded, in order to modify the existing integrated environmental authorisation due to a significant change in the environmental impact of the plant. 3.2.1.3 Municipal licensing This procedure is a type of authorisation granted by the municipal authority to carry out an activity regulated by the local administration. There are many types of licences derived from the diversity of regulations developed at the local council level (ordinances). These are adaptations of the higher level regulations (European, national or regional legislation) which also consider the particularities and use of each municipality. In general terms, urban planning licences and activity licenses can be distinguished. • With regard to urban planning licences, the construction of a hydrogen plant will mainly be affected by building permits; • With regard to activity licences, those for occupation or opening licences (which will be processed once the works have been completed and the corresponding installations have been registered in accordance with industrial safety regulations) will be applied. For further details, local ordinances should be consulted, as the particularities of each municipality (natural or landscape resources, existence of archaeological remains, etc.) may give rise to additional formalities. 3.2.1.4 Industrial security In Castilla-La Mancha, the European directives and national regulations related to industrial security are implemented through local regulations and specific permitting procedures to ensure that industrial plants operate according to the highest standards of safety and sustainability. 52 The main regulations/procedures that would apply in the construction and commissioning of a hydrogen production or utilisation facility are: • Low Voltage Electrical Regulations • High Voltage Electrical Regulations • Pressure Equipment Regulations • Chemical Storage Regulations • Fire Protection Regulations • Refrigeration Installations Regulations • Regulation of Installations for the Supply of Gaseous Fuels • Regulations for Serious Accidents A wider analysis on industrial safety requirements has been made in Deliverable 2.1 of HYPOP. 3.2.2 Palma de Mallorca – Green Hysland project Green Hysland project aims to deploy a fully-functioning hydrogen ecosystem in the island of Mallorca, Spain, turning the island into Europe’s first H2 hub in Southern Europe. This will be achieved by producing green hydrogen from solar energy and delivering it to the end users, such as the island’s tourism, transport, industry and energy sectors, including gas grid injection for green heat and power local end-use. Figure 2. Green Hysland project in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Source: https://greenhysland.eu 53 3.2.2.1 Lloseta photovoltaic park and electrolysis plant According to the Basic Project for the hydrogen production plant done by Técnicos consultores, the normative which has been taken into account for this project can be classified in land use, environment and industrial security. In terms of land use, the following normative has been considered: • Law 12/2017, of 29 December, of urban planning of the Balearic Islands; • Insular Territorial Plan of Mallorca approved by agreement of the Plenary of the Consell Insular de Mallorca on the 13th of December 2004 - BOIB núm. 188 Ext. of 31-12-2004; Updated according to the modification number 1 approved on the 3rd of June of 2010. BOIB núm. 90 of 15-06-2010 and with the modification number 2 approved on the 13th of January 2011 - BOIB núm. 18 Ext. of 4-02-2011; • Subsidiary regulations of LLOSETA City Council in its Ordinances on the use of land in building; • Royal Legislative Decree 2/2008, of 20 June, approving the revised text of the Land Law; • Law 6/1997, of 8 July 1997, on rural land in the Balearic Islands; • Law 12/2014, of 16 December, agrarian of the Balearic Islands; • Law 2/2014, of 25 March, on land planning and use (Balearic Islands). Regarding environmental paperwork, apart from the national Law 21/2013 of 9 December on Environmental Assessment, the following regional laws stand out: • Law 12/2016 of 17 August, of Environmental Assessment of the Balearic Islands. • Law 7/2013, of 26 November, on the legal regime of installation, access and exercise of activities in the Balearic Islands. • Law 11/2006 of 14 September, on environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessments in the Balearic Islands (Regulation repealed, with the exception of the third, fourth and fifth additional provisions, by the sole repealing provision. 2.a) of Law 12/2016, of 17 August). It should be noted that Law 12/2016 is repealed since August 2020, with the exception of the reference to the fifth additional provision of Law 11/2006 of 14 September 2006, by the sole repealing provision 3.a) of Legislative Decree 1/2020 of 28 August. On the other side, the study on the regulatory treatment of projects incorporating hydrogen technologies carried out by the Spanish Hydrogen Association (AeH2) points out the Law 7/2013, of 26 November, on the legal regime of installation, access and exercise of activities in the Balearic Islands as the regional regulation for EIA and IEA. These procedures last around 4 and 9 months respectively and are responsibility of Balearic Islands Environment Commission. For industrial security, a similar approach to the one in Iberdrola plant (see section 3.2.1.4) has been taken. Apart from this, other pieces of legislation considered are: • CTE: Technical Building Code and its different basic application documents. • Specific standards of the electricity supply company GESA/ENDESA. 54 • Law 8/2017, of 3 August, on universal accessibility in the Balearic Islands. • Law 7/2013 on integrated licences for activities in the Balearic Islands. • Law 6/2019, of 16 February, amending Law 7/2013, of 26 November, on the legal regime of facilities, access and exercise of activities of the Balearic Islands. • Law 10/2019, of 22 February, on climate change and energy transition. • Royal Decree 833/75 on the protection of the atmospheric environment. • Order of 18 October 1976 on the prevention and correction of industrial atmospheric pollution. • Decree 96/2005, of 23 September of 23 September 2005, on final approval of the revision of the Balearic Islands Energy Sectoral energy sector plan of the Balearic Islands • Decree 33/2015, of 15 May, of final approval of the modification of the Sectorial Energy Master Plan of the Balearic Islands • Law 4/2017, of 12 July, of Industry of the Balearic Islands. • Law 6/2009 of 17 November on environmental measures to promote investment and economic activity in the Balearic Islands. Different H2 elements and the related permitting issues of the Hydrogen valley are described in the following sections to focus on specific hot spots. 3.2.2.2 H2 pipeline and injection station From the HYPOP consortium it has been possible to contact one of the companies working in Green Hysland deployments. According to their experience, the authorities involved in the deployment of the hydrogen pipeline was the Balearic Government, while the MITECO has been addressed for the blending system. The non-existence of a specific framework for the administrative processing of hydrogen pipelines and their injection into the natural gas grid has been pointed as a major obstacle. However, the collaboration from Central and Regional Administration to advance in the processing of the projects should be also considered. In this regard, it should be noted that the first precepts regarding this specific framework were approved after the start of the processing of these projects, through Royal Decree Law 6/2022 of 29th March (urgent measures in response to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine) and Royal Decree Law 14/2022, of 1 August, on economic sustainability measures in the field of transport, grants and study aids, as well as energy saving and efficiency measures and measures to reduce energy dependence on natural gas. 3.2.2.3 Bus fleet The procurement of the city bus fleet has been carried out by tender, which stipulated the following: • The tenderer shall prepare and submit the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) following the international EPD system according to the Product Category Rules for PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUSES AND COACHES PRODUCT CATEGORY CLASSIFICATION: UN CPC 49112 55 & 49113, version 1.1) as well as according to the principles and procedures of ISO14025: 2006. • The tenderer shall submit a declaration of compliance with REACH (EC 1907/2006) and, within the same Environmental Product Declaration, shall include a ‘List of banned and declarable substances’ specifying the non-existence of banned substances and informing of the quantity of restricted or declarable substances. • The tenderer shall provide a declaration of responsibility for programmes and procedures for the recycling of all components and parts of the Vehicle that ensure compliance with regulations and the protection of the environment and people. • The manufacturer shall provide a self-declaration that he will comply with the EU EPC Criteria applicable to transport, together with all the documentation supported by documentary verification of compliance. The criteria are available at the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/criteria/transport.pdf It can be seen that also for hydrogen buses, Green Public Procurement must be followed. 3.2.3 Andalucía - Guide for hydrogen installation applications Guidelines are playing a significant role for hydrogen technologies deployment. As in other countries where they have been published by official public entities, also in Spain these types of tools are intended for supporting stakeholders and facilitating the permitting procedures. The following is an example of existing guidelines in Spain providing evidence of how permitting requirements can be fulfilled for hydrogen projects by stakeholders. Some of the information related to permitting of the different hydrogen technologies could be valid also at national level. The regional government of Andalucía (Junta de Andalucía) has published a public guide “ Guide for hydrogen installation applications in Andalucía”. This document is of high interest for HYPOP project: it shows a will to promote hydrogen technologies in Andalusia and it also compiles the basic concepts in terms of regulation for hydrogen projects. These guidelines are organised according to the type of the different stages of the hydrogen value chain (electric input, hydrogen distribution, end-uses of hydrogen). Furthermore, the applicable legislation and procedures are studied for the following cases: • Renewable electricity generation; • Connection to the electricity grid; • Water supply; • Hydrogen production (electrolysers); • injection into the natural gas transmission and distribution network; • Isolated pipelines for industrial consumption, service stations or others; • Hydrogen storage; • Hydrogen transport. 56 3.2.3.1 Renewable electricity generation Hydrogen is considered “green” or “renewable” when the source of electricity used in the electrolysis process comes from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) such as photovoltaic plants or wind farms. Renewable electricity generation plants have Prior Administrative Authorisation (AAP or Autorización Administrativa Previa) from the State or the Autonomous Community depending on the nominal power of the plant in accordance with article 53 of Law 24/2013, of 26 December, on the Electricity Sector (LSE) and Title VII of RD 1955/2000, of 1 December. It is common for the installation to have a local renewable electricity supply and also to be connected to the electricity grid, thus being considered within the scope of self-consumption. The processing of these installations has been studied by the General Secretariat for Energy of the Andalusian Regional Government and is described in the Manual for the administrative processing of selfconsumption installations in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (Self-consumption Manual). Regarding urban planning, renewable energy production infrastructures are considered ordinary actions on rural land, in accordance with Law 7/2021, of 1 December, on the promotion of territorial sustainability in Andalusia (LISTA) and the General Regulations of the LISTA, approved by Decree 550/2022, of 29 November. In this case, it is not necessary to obtain authorisation prior to the municipal licence that qualifies the land on which they intend to establish themselves, with the exception of actions with an implication for spatial planning. For that actions, a mandatory and binding report from the competent Regional Ministry for Spatial Planning and Town Planning will be required. This will be delivered within a period of two months. If a response is not obtained within the statutory two months, it means that permission has not been granted. 3.2.3.2 Connection to the electricity grid The procedure for access and connection to the electricity grid is regulated by Royal Decree 1955/2000, of 1 December, which establishes the general conditions for access and connection to the electricity transmission and distribution networks with the modifications established in Royal Decree 1183/2020, of 29 December, on access and connection to the electricity transmission and distribution networks. An electrolyser acts as a consumer and the connection is processed in the same way as for other end-user connections. The main steps for the access and connection to the electricity grid are as follows: 1. Request for access and connection to the network. 2. Provide the financial guarantee of 40 €/kW for both generation and consumption (for installations connected to the grid >36 kV according to RDL 8/2023, of 27 December) required depending on the power requested. 3. Feasibility study. 4. Technical and economic offer. 5. Acceptance of the offer. 57 6. Execution of the works. 7. Inspection and commissioning. The actual procedure may vary depending on the type of installation, producer or consumer, the required connection capacity and other specific factors. It is necessary to consult directly with the relevant grid operator for detailed information on the requirements and the specific process in each case. 3.2.3.3 Water supply The Hydrographic Confederations are the administrative bodies that grant water concessions. They are autonomous bodies attached to the MITECO. The administrative process for the concession of water for hydrogen production in Andalusia is regulated in the revised text of the Water Law (RDL 1/2001). The water concession is the administrative authorisation required for the private use of water, and is granted taking into account the rational joint exploitation of surface and underground resources. This process is detailed in Chapter III ‘authorisations and concessions’ of the aforementioned law. Article 60 of RDL 1/2001 assesses that concessions shall take into account the order of preference established in the Hydrological Plan of the corresponding river basin district. In the absence of this order of preference, the following shall apply in general: 1. Water supply for the population, including industries with low water consumption located in population centres and connected to the municipal network; 2. Irrigation and agricultural uses; 3. Hydraulic storage of energy; 4. Industrial uses for the production of electricity; 5. Other industrial uses not included in the previous sections; 6. Other uses. According to Royal Legislative Decree 1/2016, on integrated pollution prevention and control, the discharge authorisation is granted by means of the Integrated Environmental Authorisation. 3.2.3.4 Hydrogen production (electrolysers) Installations for the production of combustible gases such as biomethane or hydrogen, even in cases where these gases are intended for final supply to consumers through pipelines, are not subject to administrative authorisation according to the Hydrocarbons Sector Law (LSH). If the action is located on rural land, it is an extraordinary action from the urban planning point of view because it is an industrial use (Law 7/2021, of 1 December, for the promotion of territorial sustainability in Andalusia (LISTA) and General Regulation of the LISTA, approved by Decree 550/2022, of 29 November). In this case, an authorisation qualifying the land intended for the project implementation is required before the municipal licence. This prior authorisation corresponds 64 4 EU-13 countries: Permitting requirements and H2 projects One particular interest of HYPOP project are the EU-13 Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Since two of these countries are present in the project consortium (Poland and Bulgaria), a first analysis has been done to evaluate their situation. Apart from this, the partners have contacted stakeholders and National Contact Points (NCP) and have carried out research with the aim of covering more EU-13 countries. 4.1.1 EU-13 countries involved in HYPOP project: Poland and Bulgaria 4.1.1.1 Poland Poland is striving to develop a green hydrogen economy, but faces numerous legislative obstacles. Currently, no evidence of a robust comprehensive legislative framework for renewable hydrogen is in place, but many discussions are ongoing. The draft law No. UD 382 seeks to amend the current Energy Law introducing specific regulations for hydrogen, but it is not yet definitive. Factors such as inadequate funding, the high cost of hydrogen technologies and the lack of basic legal norms impede development. Poland aims to take advantage of the cooperation with the other Western European countries to achieve a sound and developed internal legal framework for hydrogen technologies. Although there are several regulations related to renewable hydrogen production and refuelling stations, they do not form a solid foundation for the hydrogen market and are only a fragment of the needed legislation, which should include a comprehensive and effective legal framework for stakeholders. A key challenge is defining hydrogen in a legal context, with different definitions used depending on the market area, such as transportation or energy. Existing definitions in Polish law, including those adopted in the Law on Renewable Energy Sources (RES), the Law on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels and the Law on the System for Monitoring and Controlling Fuel Quality, need to be clearly defined and possibly harmonized. In Polish law, hydrogen has been treated as a separate category of fuel, alongside other gaseous and hazardous fuels, which is taken into account in the amendment to the Act on the System for Monitoring and Controlling Fuel Quality. However, there is a lack of consistent regulation of hydrogen in the Law on Renewable Energy Sources, which clearly shows the need to fill the legislative gap in order to actually implement the goals of the Polish Hydrogen Strategy until 2030. In Poland, in the context of hydrogen regulations and strategies, a key document is the Polish Hydrogen Strategy. The January 11, 2018 Law on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels, amended on May 24, 2020, treats hydrogen as an alternative fuel and provides incentives for hydrogen-powered vehicles, including the ability to enter Clean Transportation Zones and excise tax exemption. The Council of Ministers on October 17, 2019, by circulation, also adopted an updated "National Policy Framework for Alternative Fuel Infrastructure," defining, among other things, technical specifications for hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. 65 4.1.1.1.1 Storage for mobility in Poland All manufacturers of LPG, CNG and LNG tanks, as well as compressed hydrogen tanks for the propulsion of internal combustion engines in vehicles, before placing them on the market, are required to have them tested, for approval, for compliance with the requirements set forth in the following documents: • Regulations No. 67 and Regulation No. 110 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which are annexes to the Agreement Concerning the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be Fitted to Vehicles and the Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals Granted on the Basis of these Prescriptions, done at Geneva on March 20, 1958; • Regulation (EC) No. 79/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 14, 2009 on type-approval of hydrogen-powered motor vehicles and amending Directive 2007/46/EC; • Regulation No. 134 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UNECE) - Uniform provisions concerning the approval of motor vehicles and their components with regard to safety issues related to the operation of hydrogen-powered vehicles [2019/795]. On the basis of approval, TDT (Transportowy Dozór Techniczny or Transport Technical Inspection) conducts acceptance tests of tanks at domestic manufacturers. On the other hand, the technical requirements for the construction, testing and operation of specialized pressure equipment, which include LPG, CNG and LNG tanks, as well as compressed hydrogen tanks, are specified in the Regulation of the Minister of Transport of October 20, 2006 on technical conditions for technical supervision in the design, manufacture, operation, repair and modernization of specialized pressure equipment. In the case of hydrogen tanks installed in the vehicle supply system, documentation should include: • A certificate of the manufacturer of the hydrogen tank, in the case of new tanks installed for the first time in the vehicle with the following information: o tank manufacturer; o type, factory number, tank capacity; o the date of manufacture (month and year) and its service life; o approval number; o working and test pressure; o dimensions of the tank; o a document confirming that the tank has successfully passed a hydraulic test as required by Annex IV Part 2 of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 406/2010 of April 26, 2010. • A certificate from the vehicle manufacturer or its authorized representative (dealer) that the hydrogen system has been installed and checked, containing at least: o type and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the vehicle; o confirmation that the hydrogen system components meet the requirements set forth in Regulation (EC) No. 79/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 66 January 14, 2009 and Commission Regulation (EU) No. 406/2010 of April 26, 2010 or UNECE Regulation No. 134; o a statement confirming the correct installation of the hydrogen system and compliance with the regulations in force in this regard; o confirmation that the hydrogen system has been tested for leaks with positive results; o data on the tank. Tests of LPG, CNG, LNG and hydrogen tanks installed in vehicle power systems are carried out by TDT inspectors at plants authorized by TDT field divisions to prepare the tanks in question for testing. These plants must meet the relevant requirements in terms of premises, equipment and personnel. Activities related to the preparation for testing of tanks for LPG, CNG and LNG gas, as well as H2 compressed hydrogen, used for the propulsion of internal combustion engines in vehicles, may be carried out by a business entity that obtains the appropriate authorizations to perform these activities from the relevant field branch of the TDT. 4.1.1.1.2 Hydrogen Refuelling stations in Poland In Poland, the permitting procedure for fuelling stations includes environmental, urban planning and safety requirements. It requires coordination between local urban planning authorities, environmental inspection and fire departments. The procedure begins with an environmental impact assessment, obtaining development conditions and then a construction permit. Key laws include the Environmental Protection Law, the Construction Law and local safety regulations. Consultation with relevant authorities and approval for connection to existing municipal infrastructure are also required. The Electromobility Law defines basic terms such as hydrogen station operator, hydrogen refuelling point, hydrogen station or hydrogen vehicle. The law contains extensive legal norms that define the rules for operating hydrogen stations, conducting technical tests of the stations or inspecting them. Detailed technical requirements for hydrogen stations are provided for in the Decree of the Minister of Climate and Environment of October 7, 2022, which includes technical requirements for the safe operation, repair and modernization of hydrogen stations, as well as descriptions of the types of technical tests of hydrogen stations conducted by the Office of Technical Inspection and the Transport Technical Inspection at specific times. The system for monitoring and controlling the quality of hydrogen used in vehicles, combustion plants, inland waterway vessels and selected fleets is regulated by the Law on Fuel Quality. Inspection of hydrogen quality at entrepreneurs producing, storing, marketing, storing hydrogen in company stations, and operating hydrogen wholesalers is carried out once every quarter of the calendar year. The Fuel Quality Law contains a precisely regulated process for testing hydrogen quality, including the procedure for taking samples for testing. Despite the existence of a legislative basis, it is felt that the Polish hydrogen market still requires a comprehensive and effective legal framework that would support the development of hydrogen technologies and their applications in various sectors, including industry, energy and mobility. 67 4.1.1.1.3 Ongoing hydrogen projects in Poland: evidences of the permitting framework Regarding existing projects, a prototype of a 0.5 MW hydrogen-oxygen boiler has been developed by SES Hydrogen Energy (part of the Sescom Group) and is intended to be used to heat apartments in the housing estate in Śrem. The company has completed the functional tests, which took place in conditions that simulated the work on a real installation. The commercial implementation of the device is planned for the turn of 2024/2025. The project is at the certification stage. The planned hydrogen boiler plant will be part of a diversified heating system supplying heat to 195 apartments under construction at the Śrem TBS housing estate. It will serve to provide central heating and central water for the buildings. The entire system envisages the installation of a hydrogen boiler room based on the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, as well as a heating system including ground-based brine-to-water heat pumps. The focal point of the boiler plant will be a hydrogenoxygen boiler with gas preparation systems. In addition, the infrastructure will include: a hydrogen and oxygen generation module using electrolysers, an electrolysis water preparation system, a hydrogen and oxygen storage module, and power and control systems for technological processes and heat exchange The parties involved are SES Hydrogen Energy and the Śrem Social Housing Society (TBS), the Municipality of Śrem and Con-Project. The regulations that have been used for the project can be seen in the Appendix. Apart from this, hydrogen refuelling stations are also gaining interest in Poland: ORLEN is a Polish multinational oil refiner, petrol retailer and natural gas trader, and, in line with its strategy, it is consistently investing in environmentally friendly hydrogen technologies. As part of "Clean Cities - Hydrogen mobility in Poland (Phase I)," one of the largest national projects in terms of hydrogen production volume, the company will build two publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations in Poznań and Katowice, as well as a mobile station in Włocławek. They will be suitable for use by all hydrogen-powered vehicles - both in the 700-bar pressure standard for cars and 350 bar for buses and heavy transport. The planned infrastructure will enable the refuelling of a total of more than 40 buses, as well as passenger cars and other hydrogen-cell-powered vehicles. The main companies and bodies involved are PKN Orlen, Calvera, UDT (Urząd Dozoru Technicznego), PSP (Państwowa Straż Pożarna or State Fire Service) and TDT (Transportowym Dozorem Technicznym). The permitting requirements considered in this project are as follows: First of all, Article 5 of the Law of July 7, 1994. - The Construction Law (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1333, as amended) indicates that a construction object, as a whole and its individual parts, together with related construction equipment, should, taking into account the expected period of use, be designed and built in the manner specified in the regulations, including technical and construction regulations, and in accordance with the principles of technical knowledge. In addition, the proposed law on amending the Law on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels will soon introduce a definition of a hydrogen station and basic requirements for its construction and operation. 68 A hydrogen refuelling station is a construction object that constitutes a utility-functional whole. Accordingly, its design, construction, release for operation and operating rules are regulated by numerous normative acts on construction, technical, safety or environmental aspects. In addition to generally applicable regulations, there are technical standards - national and international, which systematize the available technical knowledge on an ongoing basis and set the highest standards for the construction of such facilities. Therefore, the lack of national regulation on a given issue does not prevent the construction of hydrogen stations. It only means that in this regard, the investor has a certain discretion limited by other regulations and the obligation to exercise due diligence and appropriate standards, which suggests, for example, the use of the above-mentioned technical standards. Accordingly, in the design, construction and operation of hydrogen refuelling stations, in particular, the provisions of the following legislation should be applied. It is suggested to use the indicated technical standards, which are exemplary and should be used on a voluntary basis. • The Decree of the Minister of Climate and Environment dated October 7, 2022 introduces detailed technical requirements for hydrogen stations. These include rules for safe operation, repair and modernization, based on ISO 19880-1 and PN-EN 17127 standards. Stations must also comply with ISO 19880-2 and PN-EN ISO 17268 standards, especially for refuelling dispensers. • A hydrogen station should have technical documentation, operating instructions in Polish, installation diagrams and an explosion hazard assessment. Also important are regular technical inspections, including examinations by the Office of Technical Inspection and Transport Technical Inspection, documented by protocols. Fees for issuing opinions and carrying out tests are 20% of the average monthly salary in the economy for the initial examination and up to 20% for the operational examination. The regulation also requires that two independent power sources or a generator are provided. The station should be equipped with equipment to measure the amount of hydrogen refuelling and be protected against unauthorized access, leaks, collisions and fire hazards. Regarding the construction and design of hydrogen refuelling stations, the applicable legal acts are as follows: 1. the Act of July 7, 1994. - Construction Law (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1333, as amended); 2. the Act of October 3, 2008 on providing information about the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 247 ); 3. the Law of March 27, 2003 on spatial planning and development (Dz.U.of 2021, item 741); 4. the Law of December 21, 2000 on technical supervision (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 272, i.e.); 5. the Law of August 19, 2011 on the transportation of dangerous goods (Journal of Laws 2021, item 756); 6. the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of April 12, 2002 on the technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location (Journal of Laws 2019, item 1065, as amended); 69 7. the Regulation of the Minister of Transport and Maritime Economy of March 2, 1999 on the technical conditions to be met by public roads and their location (Dz.U. of 2016, item 124, as amended); 8. the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of January 16, 2002 on technical and construction regulations for toll highways (Journal of Laws 2019, item 1644); 9. regulation of the Minister of Economy, Labor and Social Policy of July 9, 2003 on the technical conditions of technical supervision in the operation of certain pressure equipment (Journal of Laws 2003 No. 135 item 1269); 10. the Regulation of the Minister of Development dated July 11, 2016 on requirements for pressure equipment and pressure equipment assemblies (Journal of Laws 2016 item 1036); 11. the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of December 7, 2012 on the types of technical equipment subject to technical supervision (Journal of Laws 2012, item 1468); In terms of fire protection, hydrogen refuelling stations should, taking into account their expected period of use, be designed, built, maintained and operated in a manner specified in the regulations, including technical and construction and fire safety regulations, and in accordance with the principles of technical knowledge, ensuring compliance with the basic requirements of fire safety. For the use of hydrogen infrastructure, the following regulations and standards should be considered: 1. the Act of December 21, 2000 on technical supervision (Journal of Laws 2021, item 272, i.e.); 2. the Act of August 19, 2011 on the transportation of dangerous goods (Journal of Laws 2021, item 756); 3. the Regulation of the Minister of Economy, Labor and Social Policy of July 9, 2003 on the technical conditions of technical supervision in the operation of certain pressure equipment (Journal of Laws 2019, item 211); 4. the Regulation of the Minister of Development of July 11, 2016 on requirements for pressure equipment and pressure equipment assemblies (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1036); 5. the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of December 7, 2012 on types of technical equipment subject to technical supervision (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 1468); 6. the Order of the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology of May 21, 2019 on the manner and procedure for verifying qualifications required for operation and maintenance of technical devices, and the manner and procedure for extending the validity period of qualification certificates (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1008). Finally, hydrogen transportation is related to the next legal acts: 1. the Act of December 21, 2000 on technical supervision (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 272); 2. the Law of August 19, 2011 on the transportation of dangerous goods (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 756); 70 3. the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) made in Geneva on September 30, 1957. - A legal act that covers a number of areas related to the transport of dangerous goods within its scope of regulation. 4.1.1.2 Bulgaria Regarding Bulgaria, hydrogen has been recognised as an area to be further developed under the Energy and Climate Integrated Plan. However, the regulatory framework for hydrogen in Bulgaria is very brief. Hydrogen is first legally considered as a part of green energy in the February 2021 revision of the Bulgarian Energy Act. In the majority of the cases, the existing legislation for the production of other gases and general construction is adopted. One example of the procedure to develop a hydrogen project can be seen in the hydrogen valley which is expected to be built in Chelopech Municipality. This project aims to meet the energy needs of the municipality (which is one of the largest gold and precious metals mines on the Balkan Peninsula), businesses and citizens, as well as the future construction of an industrial zone on the territory of the municipality of Chelopech. The leading companies in the world mining industry operating in the municipality are Aurubis and Dundee. Even if Bulgaria lacks a specific hydrogen permitting framework, significant efforts have been carried out. Indeed, the steps followed from the beginning of the hydrogen valley project to achieve compliancy from a legislative point of view as well as from the techno-economic point of view are described as follows: 1. Conversations between the Balkan Hydrogen Cluster and Chelopech Municipality. Chelopech energy needs, as well as the hydrogen and oxygen needs for business and the public sector are significant. For this reason, talks for a feasibility study, technical design and construction of a valley for green hydrogen production have been started. 2. The Municipality of Chelopech and the companies formed a public private partnership. The consortium aims to initiate a feasibility study to precede the technical design and construction of the hydrogen valley. 3. A full analysis and study of the municipality of Chelopech was carried out, on the possibilities for integration and use of green hydrogen, for both business, public sector and citizens. 4. The Municipality of Chelopech launched a procedure to secure 50,000 square meters of land on which to install the required plants. 5. A technical analysis and a business plan for the infrastructure and operation of the hydrogen valley were presented. 6. A feasibility study procedure was launched, where the following documents were submitted: • Permit document to issue the design start-up document to the Regional Environmental and Water Inspectorate • A document to the State Agency for National Security, as the hydrogen valley falls within the critical energy infrastructure • Document for the permit to start technical design. 71 These steps have been taken and completed to date in order to comply with the permitting requirements in Bulgaria. 7. Once the above documents are issued, the technical design process of the hydrogen valley is planned to begin, along with the valley's process design. The process ends with a costquantification. The designed capacities and equipment correspond to the envisaged business plan. 8. The construction of the hydrogen valley is planned to start. The project includes the construction of: • a 5 MW photovoltaic plant to provide a portion of the green electricity for green hydrogen production. The remainder of the green electricity is expected to come from an electricity supplier; • a borehole to provide a water source for the production of green hydrogen; • 5 kW electrolysers for public building supply; • Equipment to store the green hydrogen produced; • Compressors to pump the produced hydrogen into the storage vessels; • Fuel cells. 9. Commissioning of the hydrogen valley. The process is required to observe the available legal requirements: • The Law on Spatial Planning: the main document, which defines the norms and requirements of the entire construction process; • The Directive on the production and storage of pressurised gases; • Fire safety standards for industrial complexes; • The requirements of the State Agency for National Security; • The requirements of the State Meteorological and Technical Supervision Agency; • The requirements of the District Inspectorate of Environment and Water of Sofia Region; • The standards of the Labour Inspectorate, for the stipulated norms for the work process. 4.1.2 Other EU-13 countries In this section, some considerations about the permitting approach of hydrogen technologies in some of EU-13 countries target under HYPOP project have been provided. This is a general overview of the approaches and information derived mainly from stakeholder’s engagement activity. Among the EU 13-countries, Latvia is implementing policies for alternative fuels, including hydrogen. Up to date, current knowledge about hydrogen reflects in permitting issues, especially for the transport and energy fields in Latvia. Public authorities involved in the different permitting procedures are the Municipal authorities for the building and operation permits of a plant. Moreover, technical support can be given at higher level from a national authority, Valsts vides dienests, which is the State environmental service for the pollutant emissions. 72 The overall permitting requirements are the building (planning), operation and environmental ones, dealt with by municipal and local authorities and the State Environmental service. A hydrogen project is considered as set of facilities and for this reason each technology should follow individual procedures with their own durations. All the procedures are uniform at national level and issued by municipal/local authorities. Local authorities involved in the different permitting procedures can be engaged to provide the specific laws and regulations needed for the project. The main reference legislation is the Construction Law which disciplines the building and operation permits. Before that, environmental requirements must be fulfilled and for this reason the project owner has to assess if it is needed to perform initial environmental permitting or a “full” environmental impact assessment procedure. For example, in the case of Hydrogen refuelling station it is necessary to obtain an initial environmental impact assessment as the facility is associated to a chemical industry where chemical substances and intermediate products are produced. In Latvian legislation, building permits are linked to the land use (planning) permitting. Land Use Plan is the main legislative reference that can forbid the building of a hydrogen production facility. Linked to the building permit there is also the operation permit which come from authorities at local level. There are not specific limits for a hydrogen production plant to be built but, as it is considered as a chemical production facility, it must be located only in a zone where the destination is industrial. There are no references to threshold limits for quantities of hydrogen produced and stored but local/municipal authorities have the right to ask for specific clarifications and a risk assessment if needed. Documentation needed by the building authority must contain information related to graphical, technical data and calculations and the compliance of projects conception and features to the spatial plans and land use of the municipality involved in the project proposal. Once achieved the approval for building, the operation permits must consider the compliance to the fire safety requirements. As mentioned, environmental permits, mainly related to pollutant emission, are also required. In Latvia, hydrogen production facilities and related storage systems need to be classified according to categories A, B, C (“Regulation for the procedure by Which Polluting Activities of Category A, B and C Shall Be Declared and Permits for the Performance of Category A and B Polluting Activities Shall Be Issued”). This categorization depends on the quantities of pollutants that can be produced during the facility operation phase and are mainly related to polluting activities where conventional fuels like oil are consumed or flammable, explosive and extremely flammable gas and liquids are stored. This environmental categorization is granted by the State environment service and can be used for both hydrogen production facilities, storage systems and HRS. C category permit is the lower in terms of pollutant emission. The HRS always needs a C category permit (also with in situ hydrogen production). The legislation does not mention hydrogen produced by other production mechanisms different from steam methane reforming. Categorization is based on rated thermal input of the plant: • If the rated thermal input is from 0,2 to 5 MW the category is C; • If the rated thermal input is from 5 to 50 MW, the category is B. The storage units with more than 2,5 m3 can be built if the Ministry of the Environmental Protection and regional Development of the Republic of Latvia assesses that the minimum safety requirements for works with dangerous goods and mixtures are respected. As in the case of hydrogen production 73 facilities and HRS, also for the individual storage units the pollutant emission legislation needs to be applied and the consequent categorization. Despite of hydrogen production and HRS, hydrogen storage units face prohibitions based on quantities, as follows: • B category if the liquid or gas stored is above 1 ton or more; • Above 1 ton of chemical substances stored the category is A. There have been evidences of hydrogen deployment in transport sector since 2018 when the first public hydrogen refuelling station was installed in Riga. After that time, no other HRS appear to be operating in the country. At the moment, it is not possible to distinguish between conventional and hydrogen refuelling stations and for this reason there are limited zones where HRS could be located, basically on industrial areas. Regarding environmental requirements, prohibitions can increase when a hydrogen production unit is foreseen into the HRS plant perimeter because it is considered as a chemical facility for the production of substances or group of substances under EU law. Regarding the pollutant emission permits, there is no distinction between different production processes that can vary significantly in terms of pollutant emissions. In the case of hydrogen produced by electrolysis pollutant emission cannot be compared to conventional fuel production. Moreover, in the process of obtaining environmental permits, the lack of differences implies the need of environmental impact study. Public administrations would evaluate HRS projects case by case. In the case of public HRS, ISO/TS 19880-1:2018 is considered as applicable instead the connection phase between the FCEV and the dispensing unit can be done according ISO 17268:2012. In Latvia, there are not specific requirements for the connection of electrolysers to the electrical grid. It is considered as a common consumer and specific requirements may exist if the power exceeds certain values which could have an impact to the balancing of the electrical network. The authority is the Distribution Network Operator. Also, for fuel cells, connection is managed by the Distribution Network operator and electricity can be sold in the electrical market but there are not specific barriers as it is considered as a micro-CHP system. Within HYPOP research activity an interview has been carried out with the KSSENA organization. As an Energy agency for national affairs in Slovenia, it supported HYPOP to identify the legislative framework and the implementation of hydrogen technologies in Slovenia up to date. According to this stakeholder, Slovenia is lagging behind in the implementation of the national hydrogen strategy which is going to be included in the next National energy and climate plan. This delay likely comes from the present gap of hydrogen demand and offer in Slovenia. Existing framework of pilot projects for hydrogen production and distribution follow permitting procedures not specifically related to Hydrogen but mainly to natural gas. Hydrogen is mentioned mainly in strategic document for transport, as reported by H2MA project leaded by KSSENA organization, The following are the projects which could in the future support the creation of a solid permitting framework for hydrogen technologies in Slovenia: • North Adriatic Hydrogen valley (NAHV) coordinated by a state-owned power generation company, Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE); 80 5.2 Germany Hydrogen is recognised as an alternative fuel in Germany under the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Directive. Several steps are being taken for the expansion of hydrogen production and the accompanying infrastructure network for its transportation, distribution, and usage. At the national level, some pieces of legislation that are of general interest for hydrogen projects are the following: - Building Code, which affects the land use planning in hydrogen production, storage and refuelling stations. Article 249 bis shows the special regime for hydrogen production or storage projects from renewable energies; - Federal Land Use Ordinance: It provides that, in areas referred to in Article 11(2), for installations using radiant solar energy, installations for the production or storage of hydrogen are permitted if the conditions set out in Article 249a(4) are met. It affects the land use planning in hydrogen production, storage and refuelling stations; - Protection from the Harmful Effects of Air Pollution, Noise, Vibration and Similar Processes on the Environment Act (Federal Emissions Control Act). It defines the eligibility criteria for hydrogen from biogenic sources, and in particular: (a) the method of calculating greenhouse gas emissions; (b) the verification procedure and the transferability of evidence; and (c) the requirements for renewable energy sources for the production of hydrogen. It affects the process and requirements for authorisation of hydrogen production, storage and refuelling stations, certification of origin and road planning. - Ordinance on Permitting Facilities, which displays information related to hydrogen. It affects the authorisation process for hydrogen production, storage and refuelling stations and road planning. - Environmental Impact Assessment Act. Annex 1 provides a list of projects subject to the Environmental Impact Assessment, including hydrogen. It affects the process and authorisation and safety requirements for hydrogen production and storage. - Dangerous Incidents Ordinance. Section 2 sets out the Regulations for operational areas. It affects the process and requirements for production and safety and HRS. In a more specific way, hydrogen vehicles are also affected by the German Traffic Ordinance, which contemplates hydrogen in the section 41a"Compressed gas systems and pressure vessels". Adding to this, “BGI 5108 Hydrogen Safety in Motor Vehicle Repair Shops - Tram, Subway, and Rail Professional Association Instructions” contains safety requirements and provides some exemplary explanations and solutions for operators of motor vehicle repair shops where hydrogen vehicles are kept. Hydrogen networks, on the other hand, are regulated by Energy Industry Law, Combined Heat and Power Production Act, DVGW rulebook and Renewable Energy Law. 81 - Energy Industry Law affects the connection of the electrolyser to the power grid, the situation of Power to Gas plants and the requirements for the connection and injection of hydrogen into the gas network. It contains sections 3b "Regulation of hydrogen networks" and 3c "Regulations on the core hydrogen network", as well as the parts “10b. Hydrogen network operators”, “43l. Regulations for the development and expansion of hydrogen networks”, “112b. Reports from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Federal Network Agency on the evaluation of the regulation of hydrogen networks” and “113a. Assignment of rights of way to hydrogen pipelines.” - In the Section 2 of Combined Heat and Power Production Act, surcharge payments for cogeneration electricity are set. - In DVGW rulebook (issued by the German Association for Water and Gas Supply), the worksheets DVGW G 260 (Gas Quality) and 262 (Use of Gases from Renewable Sources in Public Gas Supply) provide the general requirements for gases in public supply networks. Up to 10% vol. of hydrogen is allowed, if sensitive devices are not connected to the downstream network. The worksheet DVGW 265-3 (Installations for Hydrogen Injection into Gas Supply Networks – Planning, Manufacture, Assembly, Testing, Commissioning and Operation), lays down the technical requirements for hydrogen injection plants into the gas supply network. In general, this rulebook affects hydrogen connection, injection, safety and quality requirements. - Renewable Energy Law affects the certification of origin and the status of Power to Gas plants and CHP systems. It contains several hydrogen-related articles: o 28f. Auction volume and bidding deadlinesfor innovative concepts with hydrogenbased electricity storage. o 28g. Auction volume and bidding deadlines of plants for the generation of electricity from green hydrogen. o 39th. Tenders for innovative concepts with hydrogen-based electricity storage. o 39p. Tender for power generation plants from green hydrogen. o 39q. Special payment provisions for plants producing electricity from green hydrogen. o 88e. Authorization to issue ordinances on tenders for innovative concepts with hydrogen-based electricity storage. o 88f. Authorization to issue ordinances on tenders for plants for the production of electricity from green hydrogen. o 93. Authorization to issue ordinances on requirements for green hydrogen. For the residential sector (micro-CHP), the previoulsy mentioned Combined Heat and Power Production Act and Renewable Energy Law can be applied. Finally, Hydrogen Refuelling Stations are nationally affected by the standard “CMS 70 Regulation (Version 1/2020). Generation of green hydrogen“, which defines the requirements for the production (generation) of green hydrogen for energy or substance applications. Hydrogen certified in accordance with this standard will be referred to as "Green Hydrogen". Apart from this, previously mentioned regulations are also applicable. For Germany, there is an excellent approval guide for hydrogen refuelling stations which can be transposed to other hydrogen industrial facilities. This guide has been written by NOW GmbH (National Organization of Hydrogen and fuel cells). 82 The first essential step is to check who is the responsible body. Indeed, a different authority is responsible for each federal state (in Germany, there are 16 federal states). In most federal states, the Trade Licensing Office (Gewerbeamt) is responsible for the operating license, however, in some federal states this is the responsibility of the District Office (Landratsamt) or the Environmental Agency (Umweltamt). Finding the good contact point is essential since this person will follow the project during the approval process. After that, there is a table which depicts the parameters relevant to approval. Regarding the storage quantity or the on-site electrolysis needed, the table indicates which procedure should be followed. This table is illustrated bellow. Table 9. Parameters relevant for approval in Germany. Parameters relevant to approval Procedure H2 storage less > 3 t total storage According to the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV – Betriebssicherheitsverordnung), Section 3 § 18, approval required with building permit. Notes and explanations on implementation can be found in LV 49 of the State Committee on Industrial Safety and Health (LASI – Lnderausschuss Arbeitsschutz und Sicherheichstechnik) of 2017. H2 storage less ≥ 3 t and < 30 t total storage Federal Emissions Control Act (BImSchG – BundesImmissionsschutzgesetz) Simplified procedure H2 storage less ≥ 30 t total storage and/or on-site electrolysis on an industrial scale According to the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) Formal procedure For storage of > 5 t taking into account other substances with respective weighting Strfall-Verordnung (12. BImSchG) Hazardous Incident Ordinance (“Strfall-Verordnung” – 12th BImSchG). Then, when the right documents are submitted, different consultations and meeting are scheduled with the responsible authorities and the approval process is started. 5.3 The Netherlands For The Netherland, the responsible authority is the local authority (municipality) or provincial authority depending on where a facility is being build. In the open environment the local authority is responsible and when building on an industrial premises the province is responsible. For the permitting procedure, the steps must be executed according to the WABO (Wet Algemene Bepalingen Omgevingsrecht which is the General Provisions for Environmental Law Act). The procedure to grant an integrated permit for building, construction and operation consists of preparation, request, assessment and decision and in some cases public participation. During the 83 process, questions can arise due to public participation, and these must be answered before granting permission. A dedicated procedure has been written by the Dutch public authorities, the PSG 35 - Hydrogen installations for delivering hydrogen to vehicles and tools - guideline for the occupationally safe, environmentally safe and fire-safe application of installations for delivering hydrogen to vehicles and tools. The last update was in 2021. This guideline is quite technical, it explains how to proceed with the construction of the hydrogen delivery installation, how to perform the delivery operation and the maintenance of the installation. In this document, there are also descriptions of safety measures. All relevant legislations and regulations are described in the annex of this document (environmental licensing act, ATEX directive, pressure equipment decree, …). No specific regulations concerning hydrogen has been written, they use the different regulations of natural gas. 5.4 Switzerland Stakeholders’ engagement activities (H2Mobiliteit and the Federal office of Energy) allowed to provide a comprehensive overview of the procedures that can be followed in Switzerland to obtain approval for the construction and operation of a hydrogen production plant through electrolysis, which includes the associated compression, storage, and distribution systems. Permitting of a Hydrogen production plant falls under the definition of industrial activities, influencing the location of these plants. Some guidelines have been published in this topic by the Swiss Hydrogen Producers Association. It does not analyze the regulations necessary for the transport of hydrogen through pipelines and tank cars, which are regulated by other national regulations and international law for the transport of dangerous goods. As the administrative structure of Switzerland comprises of a federal government, cantons, and municipalities, the permitting requirements necessary for the approval of a hydrogen production plant can therefore be of federal, cantonal, and municipal nature, or a combination of these. More complex cases, such as those of an electrolysis plant, may require the involvement of multiple authorities of different natures. In Switzerland, a procedure is applied to simplify interactions between authorities and the exchange of information. This procedure involves the identification of a leading authority that, for regulatory aspects beyond its competence, coordinates with the relevant authorities to issue a single authorization. In the case of hydrogen production plants, the main authorization procedure is the building permit, as the building structures and hydrogen technology components represent the majority of the plant. The building authorization procedures are in charge of the territorially competent canton, which therefore represents the leading authority that coordinates with the other federal and municipal authorities. The building procedure is the main authorization process, which concludes with obtaining a cantonal construction license. Together with the building requirements, there are also authorizations related to electrical installations granted by the ESTI, the federal supervisory authority for electrical installations. The ESTI ensures that such installations are planned, built, and 84 maintained safely and in an environmentally friendly manner. These installations include high-voltage installations, low-voltage installations, and weak-current installations. Once the building and electrical requirements are satisfied, it is possible to issue a construction license according to the federal labor law PGV-ArG by the Municipality and of the construction license for electrical installations PGV-ESTI, which applies to H2 production plants. Both from a construction and electrical standpoint, the plant project must be compatible with the PGV, i.e., the General Zoning Plan. It is a territorial planning tool used at the municipal or cantonal level to define the use of land and the zones into which the territory can be subdivided, such as residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or natural protection zones. This plan integrates into the broader framework of Swiss territorial planning, which includes various levels of detail, from the general orientation provided by cantonal master plans to detailed utilization plans (municipal building regulations, zoning plans, etc.) specifying the building regulations applicable in individual parcels or areas. The issuance of the construction permit depends, therefore, on how the use of the zone where the plant is to be located conforms with constraints related, for example, to proximity to public buildings and/or sensitive uses, transport infrastructure, and power lines. At the local level, there may be additional laws with further constraints. The building procedure also includes environmental authorizations to be attached to the documentation. The simplest case involves producing an environmental note. However, if the characteristics of the plant are such that certain thresholds reported in the legislation are exceeded, then it is necessary to follow an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure governed by Chapter 3 of the Environmental Protection Act and the ordinance on environmental impact assessment. An EIA is necessary if: • The storage of gas exceeds 50,000 m³ or in the case of liquid storage if it exceeds 5,000 m³; • The operational area of the plant exceeds 5,000 m² or if chemical products are synthesized beyond 1,000 tons per year. An EIA may also be necessary due to the transport through pipelines if certain threshold values of pressure, diameter, and spatial extension of the pipelines are exceeded. The designer must therefore develop an environmental impact report that describes in detail the effects a project can have on the environment, including impacts on air, water, soil, flora, fauna, humans, and the landscape in general. In the case of hydrogen production plants, the building procedure is the main authorization process, and therefore the evaluation of the information contained within an environmental report (UVB) is carried out by the cantonal environmental protection department. If the evaluation of the environmental report fell under federal competence, then the responsible authority would be the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), operating under the supervision of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications (DETEC). In addition to environmental aspects, obtaining the construction license goes through compliance with a series of safety requirements. The normative reference for safety aspects is the ordinance for safety against major accidents (StFV) if, as reported in Annex 1.1 Nos. 3 and 27, more than 5,000 kg of hydrogen are produced. In this case, it is necessary to produce a report that ensures compliance with the provisions for public safety outside the plant. If the competent authority for surveillance aspects, FOEN, did not consider the information sufficient, then a proper risk assessment would be 85 necessary. The risk assessment is a document that is part of the PGV-ArG, in turn integrated into the building procedure. The legal foundations are the labor law and its regulations and the fire prevention ordinance. The latter contains the fire prevention prescriptions that must be respected within the fire report. The fire prevention prescriptions VKF of the Association of Cantonal Fire Insurance Companies constitute harmonized standards at the intercantonal level for the preventive protection against the dangers and effects of fires and explosions in buildings and installations. However, cantonal fire protection norms, which in turn refer to VKF fire protection norms or may issue their own or more extensive prescriptions, are fundamental. The fire report must demonstrate the quality assurance of the project, previously defined through discussions with the fire brigade. In the case of a hydrogen production plant, it is necessary to ensure a quality of the system at least equal to 2 but more likely to be equal to 3 given the complexity of the plant. The cantonal safety evaluation authority can be the fire brigade or the cantonal building insurance. In accordance with the required level of quality assurance, a recognized VKF fire protection specialist must be called as responsible, who will support the project engineer in the planning phase with organizational fire protection measures. For installations with pressure equipment, the legislation on the safety and health protection of workers during the use of pressure equipment must also be respected. In the case of potentially explosive atmospheres, as in the case of hydrogen production plants, the legal reference is the VUV, which refers to the ATEX 1999/92/EC operating directive. Once all the documentation necessary for the approval of the construction and electrical installation license, PGV-ESTI, has been provided, the plant can be built. After the construction phase, it is necessary to request an operational license for the operation of the hydrogen production plant from the cantonal labor inspectorate. The cantonal authority conducts: • A building inspection for fire prevention purposes by the fire brigade; • A notification to the ESTI, which must declare the electrical installations compliant; • An inspection according to PGV-ArG through the labor inspectorate; A notification to the Swiss Accident Insurance Institute (Suva) to demonstrate compliance of the systems and its components with safety requirements, especially for pressure equipment. The design engineer then requires proof of system compliance from the H2 production system manufacturer or performs a conformity test of the system according to the product safety law himself and has it certified by a conformity assessment body. Pressure devices must be reported to Suva. The "Market Surveillance of Pressure Equipment", a specialized agency of the Swiss Association for Technical Inspections (SVTI), is the control body for monitoring pressure equipment. It can verify the documentation and compliance of the system randomly and if defects are suspected. 86 6 Comparison of Legislative Frameworks, Permitting requirements and Evidences While hydrogen is being intensely promoted across the European Union, the study of the different European Legislative Frameworks has shown up an uneven pace among the analyzed countries when it comes to the deployment of hydrogen projects and the establishment of hydrogen-related normative. Some specific regulations for hydrogen and hydrogen technologies have been identified. That is the case of the “Reform 3.1 "Administrative Simplification and Reduction of Regulatory Barriers to the Diffusion of Hydrogen" in Italy and the “RD 542/2020 of 26 May amending and repealing various provisions on industrial quality and safety” for HRS in Spain or the “Law-Decree No 2021-167 of 17 February 2021 relating to hydrogen” in France. Apart from this, the environmental legislation has proven to be of great importance for the permitting procedures of hydrogen plants. There are European Directives aimed to a better regulation of industrial actions towards sustainability, and consequently, European countries have produced their own national legislations, such as Legislative Decree April 3, 2006, no.152 and subsequent amendments (Environmental Code) in Italy. This issue has even come to the regional level, as in the case of Spain, where different laws have been identified for elaborating an EIA depending on the autonomous community (Law 2/2020 of 7th of February, of Environmental Evaluation of Castilla-La Mancha, Law 7/2013, of 26 November, on the legal regime of installation, access and exercise of activities in the Balearic Islands). In Belgium, environmental permits are also a regional competence. Something similar occurs to land use: in most cases hydrogen installations must be built in industrial land, which often depends on the urbanism plan of every municipality. Legislative framework in Italy and Spain generally limits the hydrogen technologies within industrial areas. Instead, in the case of Belgium in general there are not specific constraints provided that the hydrogen technologies (including HRS) are installed or built within an area compatible to the specific land use and the surrounding activities. At the same time, some specific applications are evolving differently from the legal point of view: in Italy fuel cell technologies are defined as technologies for cogeneration and thus their use in residential sector is conceived. Instead, in Spain, recent amendments to legislation cancelled the previous mention of fuel cells from the legislation. Obviously, industrial security must be taken into account in all the stages of the project’s lifecycle. A huge contrast has been observed between the different European countries: while France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland arise as the “frontrunner countries”, due to their advanced adoption of hydrogen technologies (as an example, Germany already considers hydrogen vehicles in the German Traffic Ordinance), in many EU-13 countries hydrogen is just taking off. Poland and Bulgaria are an example of this, since several hydrogen projects are planned to be developed in the upcoming years, but little legislation and previous experiences have been identified. Some priorities or rejections among hydrogen applications have also appeared in some countries: that is the case of Belgium putting the residential use as the lowest priority or Malta favouring electric vehicles over hydrogen vehicles. 87 To conclude, it can be stated that, despite the irregular speed, hydrogen deployment is undoubtedly advancing across Europe. Sometimes projects run faster than legislation, but it is clear that actions are being taken towards a better regulation of hydrogen projects. For that reason, it is difficult to take a steady picture of the legislative framework or the projects developed and it is difficult to put two European countries on the same level for comparison. 7 Conclusions The analysis conducted so far highlighted several hot spots related to permitting and approaches from the different countries considered. A general lack of clarity of the processes existing today might be hindering the development of hydrogen projects. The link to chemical processing from fossil-based sources has a negative impact on the new renewable hydrogen end uses like hydrogen refuelling stations and hydrogen vehicles. Indeed, as we can see in the previous sections some of the countries analysed, like Poland, have depicted the situation for the permitting of a hydrogen mobility which is lacking of a HRS network (to be soon implemented thanks to AFIR) and homologation procedures for the vehicles. Unlike common obstacles of the main features of national permitting approaches, in the case of renewable hydrogen, projects are suffering the contrast between the novelty of renewable hydrogen applications and ever/slow changing regulatory frameworks. Main permitting framework (like Industrial emission directive, environmental impact assessment, etc..) shows some gaps in the full applicability to hydrogen projects. Until hydrogen facilities will be considered as chemical ones under EU legislation (like IED directive), this type of infrastructures can be conceived and qualified as industrial. The uncertainty caused by these gaps is reflected also at local level as in most of the countries analysed decisions on projects feasibility are taken at lower level. As a result, decisions are taken case by case by single or group of authorities bringing to a burden of time and higher complexity. Moreover, this approach can forbid replicability of the projects making not efficient the efforts of both project owners and permitting authorities. Environment is one of the main aspects considered in the permitting procedures but the lack of difference between large scale and small-scale projects can bring to incorrect technical evaluation of projects. Unclear and unapplicable size-based distinction between hydrogen production thresholds for hydrogen mobility (through HRS) and electrolysis for industrial applications can slow down the deployment of small-scale hydrogen projects in sectors other than the industrial where the hydrogen production and use is conceived. Another difference that has emerged in the analysis of some of the projects identified as examples is that even similar cases have seen different permitting procedure outputs and requirements. In the recent yeas EU legislations and related proposals have started the path towards the adoption of a regulatory framework that can enable the deployment of renewable hydrogen. Nevertheless, significant differences at member state level and even local level are the major obstacle. Indeed, fast transposition of the EU legislation can boost the transition also at national level giving the opportunity to convert the lack of knowledge about new sectors into a well-established and shared permitting approach at EU level. 88 On the other hand, to boost hydrogen uptake in the market for the related hydrogen by products and to support a smooth and fast deployment of renewable hydrogen projects at EU level, official guidelines should be present at national level for hydrogen production and new end uses. Even in the case of lack of specific permitting references to hydrogen, we have seen that guidelines promote the implementation of projects like for Germany, Switzerland and South of Spain (Andalucía region). These documents are a useful tool that can represent a clear position of stakeholders (authorities involved in the permitting phases) and can facilitate the first approach of the project owners. In fact, one of the objectives of HYPOP project is the development of guidelines reinforcing the yet existing ones with the aim of facilitating permitting procedures. This will be developed in Work Package 4. 89 8 Appendix. Regulations used in Śrem project (Poland). Table 10. Regulations used in the project. L.p. Type of act Name of regulation Official Gazette Reference to website Comment 1 Law Law of April 10, 1997. - Energy Law Journal of Laws. 1997 No. 54 item 348 LINK Planned changes under bill UD382 governing the addition of hydrogen 2 Law Law of February 20, 2015 on renewable energy sources Journal of Laws. 2015 item 478 LINK Planned changes under UC99 bill regulating energy sources for hydrogen creation 3 Law Law of March 27, 2003 on spatial planning and development Journal of Laws. 2003 No. 80 item 717 LINK Planned changes under bill UD369 - getting to hydrogen 4 Law Law of July 7, 1994. - Construction Law Journal of Laws. 1994 No. 89 item 414 LINK The requirement to adapt to the use of hydrogen in construction 5 Law Law of June 9, 2011. - Geological and mining law Journal of Laws. 2011 No. 163 item 981 LINK Planned changes under bill UD280 - hydrogen adjustment 6 Law Law of July 20, 2017. - Water Law Journal of Laws. 2017 item 1566 LINK Adaptation to hydrogen use and water treatment for hydrogen production 7 Law Act of August 25, 2006 on the system of monitoring and controlling fuel quality Journal of Laws. 2006 No. 169 item 1200 LINK Adding hydrogen as a fuel and the principles of its monitoring and control 8 Law Act of December 21, 2000 on technical supervision Journal of Laws. 2000 No. 122 item 1321 LINK supervision of hydrogen systems 9 Law Act of August 25, 2006 on biocomponents and liquid biofuels Journal of Laws. 2006 No. 169 item 1199 LINK Planned changes under UC110 bill - addition of hydrogen 10 Law Act of October 3, 2008 on providing information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments Journal of Laws. 2008 No. 199 item 1227 LINK Adding information about environmental rules at hydrogen 11 Law Law of August 24, 1991 on fire protection Journal of Laws. 1991 No. 81 item 351 LINK hydrogen safety rules 12 Law Law of April 27, 2001. Environmental Protection Law Journal of Laws. 2001 No. 62 item 627 LINK principles of environmental protection at hydrogen 13 Law Law of May 11, 2001. Law on Measures Journal of Laws. 2001 No. 63 item 636 LINK actulization by hydrogen 18 Regulation Ordinance of the Minister of Energy of March 15, 2018 on detailed rules for shaping and calculating tariffs and settlements in gas fuel trade Journal of Laws. 2018 item 640 LINK recognition that hydrogen is also a gaseous fuel