Research and publications
THERESA RESEARCH FINDINGS (up to 31 January 2025)
At the time of the THERESA project’s inception in 2021, research on green hydrogen was predominantly focused on technical and economic aspects, with limited legal scholarship on the subject. Hydrogen regulation in the EU was governed by a fragmented framework of directives, with no dedicated legal instruments addressing its production, trade, or integration. Since then, the THERESA project has made significant contributions to advancing legal scholarship on hydrogen regulation, filling critical knowledge gaps and offering practical solutions to existing legal challenges. The research has produced groundbreaking insights into hydrogen regulation and governance. It has mapped the legal fragmentation affecting hydrogen infrastructure, highlighted the regulatory barriers to integrating hydrogen into national energy and climate policies, and examined hydrogen certification schemes to facilitate global trade. A new conceptual framework, the Hydrogen Prism, has been developed to analyse regulatory cohesion, risk mitigation, and compliance in the heavy-duty transport sector. The project has also pioneered legal research on citizen participation in hydrogen governance, revealing the limitations of the current “one-size-fits-all” approach and advocating for an equity-based legal framework to ensure a just energy transition. Furthermore, circular economy principles have been applied to hydrogen production and infrastructure, identifying legal barriers that hinder waste valorisation, resource efficiency, and sustainable water use. The project has also explored cross-sectoral regulation, providing a framework for regulatory sandboxes in hydrogen valleys, which could serve as experimental spaces for legal innovation and cross-sectoral integration. These findings have immediate policy relevance, particularly in light of recent regulatory developments. The comparative EU-US analysis conducted within THERESA offers valuable insights for regulatory learning and harmonisation. Moreover, the project has identified that current EU RFNBO requirements may create unintended barriers to international trade, necessitating adjustments to align with the EU’s hydrogen import objectives. By combining doctrinal, empirical, and comparative legal methodologies, the THERESA project is setting a new benchmark in hydrogen regulation research. Its results provide a robust legal foundation to support the EU’s vision for a sustainable, legally coherent, and globally integrated hydrogen economy.
PUBLICATIONS
1. Martín Morán, Álvaro, “Diversifying Clean Hydrogen. Regulatory Barriers for a Circular Hydrogen Economy”. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, volume 21, issues 3-4, 2024, pp. 167-192. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-21030003
2. Jiménez Casanova, Paola, “Towards a Sustainable, Integrated, and Decarbonized Energy System in the EU: Addressing Structural Challenges Through Hydrogen System Planning”. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, volume 21, issues 3-4, 2024, pp.193-214. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-21030004
3. Pinto, Jaqueline, “Dynamic Regulation: Instruments to Foster a Cross-Sectoral Hydrogen Economy?”. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, volume 21, issues 3-4, 2024, pp. 215-238. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-21030008
4. Gallegos, Francisca “Bridging the Gap: Certification Schemes for Sustainable Hydrogen in Global Trade”. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, volume 21, issues 3-4, 2024, pp. 239-273. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-21030005
5. Pailman, Kelsey, “The Hydrogen Prism: Angles of EU Hydrogen Regulation for Sustainable Mobility”. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, volume 21, issues 3-4, 2024, pp. 274-296. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-21030011
6. Rehage, Ruben & Forns Gómez, Alba, “Accelerating Authorizations vs. Public Participation in the Decision-Making Chain of Renewable Hydrogen in Germany and Spain: a Dilemma”. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, volume 21, issues 3-4, 2024, pp. 297-317. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-21030007
7. Forns Gómez, Alba & Rehage Ruben, “Is Public Participation in Hydrogen Matters (Un)just? Evaluating the Ex-/inclusion of the Vulnerable and Marginalised Individuals in the Hydrogen Decision-Chains of the EU, Spain and Germany”. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, volume 21, issues 3-4, 2024, pp. 21(3-4), 318-342. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-21030006
8. Gallego, Francisca, “The Art of Certifying Hydrogen: A New Era in International Trade”, Oil, gas and energy law, volume 22, issue 3, 2024, pp. 1-32. https://erepo.uef.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/f986b529-caab-4228-b4a7-f1713dd392f1/content
9. Cocciolo, Endrius, “The Regulation of Hydrogen in the Transport Sector: Focus on Refuelling Stations”, in Fleming, Ruven (ed), The Cambridge Handbook of Hydrogen and the Law, Cambridge University Press; 2024, pp. 263-276. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009459259.023
10. Talus Kim, Gallegos Francisca, Pinto Jaqueline, “Realism at the End of the Rainbow? An Argument Towards Diversifying Hydrogen in EU Regulation”, The Journal of World Energy Law & Business, Volume 17, Issue 4, August 2024, pp. 217-233. https://doi.org/10.1093/jwelb/jwae007
11. Gallegos Francisca, Pinto Jaqueline, Talus Kim, “Importing US-Produced Hydrogen and Its Derivatives into the EU: Examples of Unnecessary Complications, Barriers, and Distinctions”, Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, May 2024, pp 1-23, https://doi.org/10.1080/02646811.2024.2341544
12. Chege, Kennedy & Pinto, Jaqueline, “Regulating Green and Low-Carbon Hydrogen in Africa: A Case Study of South Africa”, Advances in Science and Technology, March 2024, pp. 15-24. https://doi.org/10.4028/p-Pv7uH9
13. Pinto, Jaqueline, “The Key Tenets of a Hydrogen Strategy: An Analysis and Comparison of the Hydrogen Strategies of the EU, Germany, and Spain”, Global Energy Law & Sustainability, 2023, pp. 72–95. https://doi.org/10.3366/gels.2023.0094
