The Directive, which applies to the production of hydrogen (production on an industrial scale by chemical or biological processing) (Annex I, point 4.2) contains inter alia:
• Basic obligations of the operator (Article 11)
• The content of permitting applications (Article 12)
• Permitting Conditions (Article 14)
• Emission limit values, (Article 15)
• Monitoring requirements (Article 16)
• Access to information and public participation (Article 24)

The meaning of "production on an industrial scale by chemical or biological processing in Annex I section 4" has been clarified by the EU Commission, in support of transposition and implementation measures. :

Annex I Section 4 (“chemical industry”) refers to “production on an industrial scale” and contains no quantitative capacity thresholds. The scale of chemical manufacture can vary from a few grams (of a highly specialised product), to many tonnes (of a bulk chemical product); yet both may correspond to “industrial scale” for that particular activity.

Various criteria should be taken into account to decide whether production is “on an industrial scale”, including such factors as the nature of the product, the industrial character of the plant and machinery used, production volume, commercial purpose, production solely for own use, environmental impact. Such considerations should take account of the primary objective of the IED as expressed in Article 1 as to "prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce emissions into air, water and land and to prevent the generation of waste, in order to achieve a high level of protection of the environment taken as a whole", complemented by the general principle set in Article 11 (c) that "no significant pollution is caused".

The fact that the activity is carried out for "commercial purposes" may be a strong indicator of "industrial scale", […] However, it may not be sufficient to use the “commercial purpose” of an activity as the sole determinant of "industrial scale". It may also be important to take into account the potential environmental impact of a production sequence.

Similarly, relevant to Power-To-Gas plants, Directive 2010/75/EU established an integrated approach towards prevention and control. This integrated approach means that the permits must take into account the whole environmental performance of the plant, covering e.g. emissions to air, water and land, generation of waste, use of raw materials, energy efficiency, noise, prevention of accidents, and restoration of the site upon closure. The permit conditions including emission limit values must be based on the Best Available Techniques (BAT).

Directive 2009/72/EC establishes common rules for the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity, together with consumer protection provisions. It lays down the rules relating to the organisation and functioning of the electricity sector, open access to the market, the criteria and procedures applicable to calls for tenders and the granting of authorisations and the operation of systems. It also lays down universal service obligations and the rights of electricity consumers and clarifies competition requirements.

In addition to general rules for the organisation of the sector, the Directive contains provisions on: generation (e.g. authorisation procedure for new capacity) transmission (e.g. Unbundling, independence, etc.), distribution system operation, the organisation of access to the system, etc.

Relevant to Power-to-Gas plants, Directive 2009/73/EC establishes common rules for the transmission, distribution, supply and storage of natural gas. It lays down the rules relating to the organisation and functioning of the natural gas sector, access to the market, the criteria and procedures applicable to the granting of authorisations for transmission, distribution, supply and storage of natural gas and the operation of systems.