Germany notifies gas conditions for gas appliances including hydrogen: group A (≥ 98 % hydrogen) and group D (≥ 99.97 %), hydrogen up to 20 % in natural gas groups H and L — calorific values, Wobbe indices, composition and supply pressures
The Official Journal of the EU of 5 November 2026 published Germany’s communication under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/426 on appliances burning gaseous fuels. Alongside natural gas groups H and L and liquefied gases groups P and B, Germany listed the fifth gas family — hydrogen group A (at least 98 %) and group D (at least 99.97 %) — with calorific values, Wobbe indices, permissible composition and supply pressures.
- Under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/426, Member States communicate to the Commission and the other Member States the types of gas and corresponding supply pressures used on their territory, and the Commission publishes them in the Official Journal of the EU. Gas appliance manufacturers and laboratories testing appliances intended for a given market use these data.
- Natural gas group H: gross calorific value 34.5–44.7 MJ/m³, Wobbe index 46.1–52.64 MJ/m³ (up to 53.72 at grid interconnection points and downstream networks); group L: 28.7–38.6 MJ/m³ and 37.60–44.40 MJ/m³. For limited periods the Wobbe index may drop to 43.2 MJ/m³ (H) and 36.0 MJ/m³ (L) with unchanged appliance settings. The hydrogen content entry for both groups reads 0.2–20 %, and H2S and COS are limited to 5 mg/m³.
- Hydrogen group A: gross calorific value 11.86–12.61 MJ/m³, Wobbe index 40.09–44.81 MJ/m³, at most 2 % C1–C5 hydrocarbons, 2 % N2 + CO2 and 0.1 % CO. Group D: 12.1–12.11 MJ/m³ and 45.78–45.86 MJ/m³, at most 0.03 % C1–C5 hydrocarbons, 0.03 % nitrogen, 0.0002 % CO2 and 0.00002 % CO. Hydrogen supply pressure: nominally 20 mbar at the appliance inlet and 23 mbar at the point of delivery.
- Liquefied gases: group P — nominal gross calorific value 101.2 MJ/m³, Wobbe index 72.90–87.30 MJ/m³ (only from a stationary tank); group B — 133.8 MJ/m³ and 81.80–87.30 MJ/m³; at most 10 % unsaturated hydrocarbons, sulphur from COS up to 5 mg/kg, H2S technically free. Supply pressure 50 mbar (42.5–57.5).
- Natural gas: pressure at the appliance inlet 20 mbar (18–25), at the point of delivery 23 mbar (20–25.3). Admissible pressure loss in the end-user gas installation: 3 mbar for natural gas and hydrogen, 5 mbar for liquefied gases (domestic and similar use). Reference conditions for the calorific value and Wobbe index: combustion at 15 °C, volume measured at 15 °C and 1,013.25 mbar.
- The group D values — at least 99.97 % hydrogen, at most 0.2 µmol/mol CO, 2 µmol/mol CO2 and 300 µmol/mol nitrogen — match the requirements of ISO 14687 for hydrogen for PEM fuel cells in road vehicles (grade D). Laboratories usually determine the calorific value and Wobbe index from the measured gas composition (gas chromatography to ISO 6974, calculation to ISO 6976).