Importing hydrogen under CBAM: no threshold, direct emissions only, and a default that depends on the country

By Ahmed Medhat · Published27 September 2026

Hydrogen sits in CBAM under one CN code, 2804 10 00, in the "Chemicals" group of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/956. Its greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. Three things in the acts shape what an importer of hydrogen has to do: it has no 50-tonne exemption, only its direct emissions count, and its default value depends on the country in a way worth checking before you buy.

There is no 50-tonne exemption

Most importers who stay under 50 tonnes of CBAM goods a year are exempt, and declare the exemption on the customs declaration (Article 2a(1) and Annex VII, point 1). Hydrogen is not in that deal. Article 2a closes with one line: "This Article shall not apply to imports of electricity or hydrogen" (Article 2a(4)).

So a single delivery of hydrogen brings the full set of obligations with it: authorised CBAM declarant status before importing (Articles 4 and 5), the annual declaration (Article 6) and the certificates (Article 22). They fall on the importer, or on its indirect customs representative where the importer is not established in the EU (Article 5(2) and (2a)); an EU importer may also appoint one that agrees to act for it (Article 5(1a)). An importer or representative that applied by 31 March 2026 may keep importing provisionally until the competent authority decides (Article 17(7a)).

Only the direct emissions count

Annex II of the Regulation lists the goods "for which only direct emissions are to be taken into account", and hydrogen, 2804 10 00, is on it. Article 7(1) applies that: for Annex II goods "only direct emissions shall be calculated and taken into account".

The definitions settle what that leaves out. Direct emissions are "emissions from the production processes of goods, including emissions from the production of heating and cooling that is consumed during the production processes". Indirect emissions are "emissions from the production of electricity which is consumed during the production processes of goods" (Article 3, points (21) and (34)). For hydrogen, the electricity used to make it is therefore not part of its embedded emissions under CBAM. The heat and steam used are.

Which hydrogen, and which emissions

The monitoring rules are in Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2547, section 3.6. Two points there decide the scope.

First, which hydrogen: "Only the production of pure hydrogen or mixtures of hydrogen with nitrogen usable in ammonia production shall be considered." Hydrogen or synthesis gas used as a precursor inside a refinery or an organic chemical installation, and used only there and not for other Annex I goods, is not covered (point 3.6.1).

Second, the system boundary. For steam reforming and partial oxidation, monitoring takes in all processes directly or indirectly linked to hydrogen production and to separating hydrogen from carbon monoxide, flue gas cleaning, and all fuels, whether burned for energy or used as feedstock, including fuels for hot water or steam (point 3.6.2.1). Steam cracking has its own boundary (point 3.6.2.2).

Where hydrogen is a co-product of a multi-functional process, the emissions are attributed by molar ratio, or by mass if the molar mass of a co-product is not known (IR (EU) 2025/2547, Annex III, point A.2.1, Equation 43).

The default value depends on the country, and not in the direction you might expect

If you declare on default values, the value for hydrogen comes from the country tables in Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1740. A country that is not listed, or is listed with no value for the good, takes the table "Other countries and territories" (Annex I, introductory paragraphs).

For hydrogen the fallback is not the highest value. The total-emissions default in the tables for China and for the United States is 26.640 tCO2e per tonne. In "Other countries and territories" it is 17.740. So a listed country's own row can cost more than the fallback would.

On top of the default comes the mark-up. For goods in the hydrogen sector it is 10 % for 2026, 20 % for 2027 and 30 % from 2028 (IR (EU) 2026/1740, Annex I, introductory paragraphs).

Offshore hydrogen

Two provisions deal with the sea. The Regulation "shall not apply to" hydrogen originating on the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone of a Member State, or of a country or territory listed in point 1 of Annex III (Article 2(3a)(b)). That point lists Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, and the territories of Büsingen, Heligoland, Livigno, Ceuta and Melilla.

In the other direction, the Regulation also applies to Annex I goods originating in a third country that are brought to an artificial island, a fixed or floating structure, or any other structure on the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone of a Member State adjacent to the customs territory of the Union (Article 2(2)).