Law assigns ANP to regulate low-carbon hydrogen in Brazil

Law No. 14,948/2024, which establishes the legal framework for low-carbon hydrogen, was published August 2, 2024, in an extra edition of the Official Gazette of the Union. The law assigns ANP the powers to regulate, authorize and monitor the exercise of hydrogen exploration and production activities in Brazil.

According to the new legal framework, ANP has several new attributions, including:

Authorization for the production of low-carbon hydrogen, respecting the attributions of the other agencies (Art. 11, § 1°);

Transfer of ownership of the production authorization (Art. 11, § 3°);

Exemption from production authorization in case of use of hydrogen as an input or by volume produced through activity registration (Art. 11, §4° – to be defined in regulation);

Use of regulatory sandbox or pilot projects as temporary regulatory solutions until specific regulations are enacted (Art. 12);

Regulate, authorize and monitor the exercise of the activity of exploration and production of natural or geological hydrogen in the national territory (Art. 13 – Types of granting to be defined in regulation);

Authorization of operations of loading, processing, treatment, import, export, storage, stockpiling, packaging, transportation, transfer, resale and commercialization of hydrogen, its derivatives and carriers (Art. 14 – Priority to those who already have authorization for production).

The new Law also provides for the National Policy for Low-Carbon Hydrogen; establishes incentives for the low-carbon hydrogen industry; establishes the Special Incentive Regime for the Production of Low-Carbon Hydrogen (Rehidro); creates the Low-Carbon Hydrogen Development Program (PHBC); and amends Laws No. 9,427 of December 26, 1996, and No. 9,478 of August 6, 1997.

Access Law No. 14,948/2024 in the Official Gazette of the Union: https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/lei-n-14.948-de-2-de-agosto-de-2024-576003914