CBAM cost per tonne of hydrogen, 2026 to 2034
Using EU default values and a certificate price of €82.32, CBAM adds about €104.65 per tonne of hydrogen imported from India in 2026 on the Grey (SMR, Natural Gas) route, rising to €587.95 in 2030 and €963.14 in 2034 as free allocation ends.
Cost per tonne by year (€)
| Route | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | 2034 |
|---|
| Grey (SMR, Natural Gas) (9 tCO2/t default) | 105 | 197 | 307 | 399 | 588 | 679 | 770 | 861 | 963 |
| Blue (SMR + CCS) (2.5 tCO2/t default) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 166 | 268 |
| Green (Electrolysis) (0.5 tCO2/t default) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 |
Assumptions: EU default values with the default-value mark-up, certificate price held at €82.32 (Q3 2026), origin India with no carbon price paid at origin. Estimates, not a CBAM declaration.
Covered CN codes
Questions
What is the CBAM cost per tonne of hydrogen in 2026?
About €104.65 per tonne at default values on the Grey (SMR, Natural Gas) route (9 tCO2 per tonne plus the default-value mark-up), with 98% of the EU benchmark still allocated free.
How much does the production route change the CBAM cost?
By 2034 the default-value cost ranges from €53.51 per tonne on the Green (Electrolysis) route to €963.14 per tonne for the most carbon-intensive route listed.
How can an exporter lower this cost?
Replace default values with verified actual emissions from the installation: CBAM charges on the embedded emissions declared, and for this sector default values carry a 30% mark-up from 2028.
CBAM calculator · All sectors