The European Commission has selected 15 green hydrogen projects for nearly €1bn public funding following the second European Hydrogen Bank auction.
Eight of the projects are in Spain, three in Norway, and two in Germany, with one apiece in Finland and the Netherlands.
The projects – funded by the Innovation Fund, sourced from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) – are expected to produce nearly 2.2 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over 10 years.
They will now prepare their grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. Agreements are expected to be signed by September or October.
Source: European Commission
The second auction attracted 61 bids from projects spanning 11 European countries in March, with total grant requests reaching €4.8bn ($5.2bn) – four times the €1.2bn ($1.3bn) budget available from the Innovation Fund.
Hydrogen will be produced for sectors such as transportation, the chemical industry, or for the production of methanol and ammonia.
Of the selected projects, 12 are committed to producing renewable hydrogen with fixed premium support of between €0.20 and €0.60/kg.
For the first time, the auction provided a dedicated budget for hydrogen producers with off-takers in the maritime sector, which are those using the hydrogen produced for carrying out or making use of bunkering activities.
This has resulted in the selection of three bids receiving €96.7m in grants. These projects will require between €0.45 and €1.88/kg. The subsidies for the 15 projects range from €8m to €246m over 10 years.
The auctions of the European Hydrogen Bank contribute to scaling up renewable hydrogen, which should help replace natural gas, coal and oil in hard-to-decarbonise industries and transport sectors.
Producing more renewable hydrogen will decrease the use of fossil fuels on our continent and increase the EU’s energy independence.
Jens Berge, CEO of Norwegian Hydrogen, whose Rjukun project made the selection, was “beyond excited” and said funding from the EU Innovation Fund and Innovation Norway strengthens its commitment to deliver green hydrogen. “We are among the very few players in the industry already producing green hydrogen for customers across the entire Nordic region. We look very much forward to increasing our capacity significantly through the Rjukan project,” he said.
In parallel, Spain, Lithuania, and Austria are allocating up to €836m in national funding for projects in their countries through the ‘Auctions-as-a-Service’ feature.
This allows member states to identify and fund eligible projects in their territories that meet the auction’s qualification criteria but cannot be funded by the Innovation Fund due to budgetary limitations.
Signed projects are required to reach financial close within a maximum of two-and-a-half years after signature and to start producing renewable hydrogen within five years.
They will receive the fixed premium subsidy for a period of up to a decade for certified and verified renewable hydrogen production.
As announced in the Clean Industrial Deal, a third European Hydrogen Bank auction is planned for late 2025 with a budget of up to €1bn.
The Commission will soon also launch the Hydrogen Mechanism under the European Hydrogen Bank. This online platform will bring together buyers and sellers and enable market participants to share information and find partners.
Europe continues to maintain momentum in hydrogen despite market challenges, and the US pursuing a fossil-fuels-first agenda.
