In the EU fleet regulation for heavy commercial vehicles, the hydrogen engine is considered a zero-emission technology, on a par with battery drives and fuel cells. It is robust, cost-effective, can be integrated efficiently and is practical for many applications, particularly in road freight transport.

Despite these advantages, it currently has a decisive competitive disadvantage: under German energy tax law, it is treated less favorably than the fuel cell: While there is no energy tax for fuel cell vehicles, the hydrogen consumed with the hydrogen engine is taxed. At the filling station, this currently leads to a price difference of 1.27 euros per kilogram, a massive handicap in the market launch.

This unequal tax treatment undermines the competitiveness of a climate-friendly technology that offers enormous potential, especially for heavy commercial vehicles and long distances. In addition, the tax disadvantage means that some operators of hydrogen filling stations are turning away vehicles with hydrogen engines out of caution. Equal tax treatment would immediately remove this obstacle.

A reform of the European Energy Tax Directive was actually intended to provide a remedy. However, the proposal failed in November 2025 and a new initiative is not on the horizon. This has turned the industry's attention to Germany: national solutions via the Energy Tax Act could exempt hydrogen engines from tax in the same way as fuel cells. There is no doubt that a harmonized EU regulation would be better in the long term, but time is now the decisive factor.

Global competition is not sleeping. Countries such as China and India are increasingly relying on hydrogen technologies in heavy goods transport - including the hydrogen engine, which is particularly valued there due to its robustness and series production capability. If Germany remains inactive, it risks losing its leading international role in hydrogen mobility.

Equal tax treatment as the key to the hydrogen lead market

Equal tax treatment is a prerequisite for themarket ramp-up of thehydrogen engine:

• enable the market ramp-up of the hydrogen engine,
• achieve the climate targets for heavy goods vehicles,
• secure investments in filling stations and vehicles,
• and to strengthen Germany's position as a technology hub.

The hydrogen engine could become a central component of climate-neutral mobility. This requires the political will now.

More about the hydrogen engine here.
FAQs from the Clean Energy Partnership e. V. (CEP) here.