REMIT Extended to Hydrogen Markets

Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 (Gas and Hydrogen Internal Market Regulation) came into force on 5 February 2025. The regulation replaces the original Regulation (EC) No. 715/2009 and thus reorganises the EU gas market. What is new is that the Gas and Hydrogen Internal Market Regulation also regulates a legal framework for the development of the future hydrogen market, including a hydrogen infrastructure.

As with the electricity and gas markets, there is a risk of abusive practices such as insider trading and market manipulation in the internal hydrogen market, which can be detrimental to end customers. The Gas and Hydrogen Internal Market Regulation therefore also amends Regulation (EU) No. 1227/2011 (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency, REMIT) and includes the hydrogen market in its scope of application.

Even before the Gas and Hydrogen Internal Market Regulation came into effect, the EU market supervisory authority ACER stated in its guidance that hydrogen contracts and derivatives were "undoubtedly" within the scope of REMIT. This legally questionable position was justified by drawing a comparison with the definition of "supply" in Article 2(28) of Directive (EU) 2024/1788, which also references hydrogen.

Consequently, the REMIT requirements have also extended to the trading of wholesale hydrogen energy products. This specifically includes the registration obligation (Article 9 REMIT), the transaction reporting obligation (Article 8 REMIT), the prohibition of market manipulation (Article 5 REMIT) and insider trading (Article 3 REMIT), as well as, where applicable, the obligation to publish inside information (Article 4 REMIT).

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Kronsteyn specialises in advising on German and European financial market law. The German law firm supports market participants in the electricity, hydrogen and natural gas markets in all legal matters relating to their trading activities. This includes, for example, the preparation of legal opinions, drafting of contracts or assistance in administrative proceedings with the German Bundesnetzagentur. For any queries, please contact Dr Hendrik Müller-Lankow.