On 25 April 2026, in Tokyo, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and the European Commissioner for Energy signed a “Hydrogen Cooperation Arrangement” that goes far beyond traditional government to government memoranda. It includes concrete commitments on policy alignment, standardisation, joint R&D, and cross border market building.

Policy alignment: The EU and Japan agree to recognise each other’s certification systems for “renewable” and “low carbon” hydrogen by the end of 2027. Currently, the EU uses a Renewable Fuels of Non Biological Origin (RFNBO) label requiring strict additionality and temporal matching; Japan has a more flexible “clean hydrogen” certification that also allows nuclear powered electrolysis. Under the agreement, both parties will develop a “mutual equivalence” framework, which could allow hydrogen certified in Japan to count towards EU renewable energy targets, and vice versa, provided certain sustainability criteria are met.

Standardisation: The two sides will jointly propose international standards to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for hydrogen transport (especially liquefied hydrogen carriers), storage materials, and safety sensors. This is aimed at preventing divergent national standards from fragmenting the emerging global hydrogen market.

Joint R&D: A €300 million joint research programme (2027 2030) will focus on solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) – which are 20% more efficient than conventional alkaline electrolysers – and on hydrogen compatible gas turbines for power generation. Two demonstration sites will be built: one in Fukushima (Japan) and one in Rotterdam (the Netherlands).

Market building: Japan has committed JPY 3 trillion (approx USD 19 billion) over 15 years to subsidise clean hydrogen production and offtake contracts. The EU will make its “European Hydrogen Bank” auctions accessible to Japanese backed projects in Europe and vice versa. The first joint auction for 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen cross border supply is planned for late 2026.

The cooperation is widely seen as a strategic response to the US’s hydrogen tax credit (Section 45V) and China’s aggressive build out of electrolyser manufacturing capacity. Japan’s METI Minister stated: “We cannot afford a hydrogen ‘Cold War’ with competing standards. Cooperation between Japan and the EU can set a global benchmark.”