The Commission has awarded nearly 720 million euros to seven renewable hydrogen projects in Europe, selected through the first competitive bidding process under the European Hydrogen Bank. Located in Finland, Spain, Portugal and Norway, these winning bidders will produce renewable hydrogen in Europe and will receive a subsidy to bridge the price difference between their production costs and the market price for hydrogen
Together, the winning bidders plan to produce 1.58 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years, avoiding more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The selected projects submitted bids between 0.37 euros and 0.48 euros per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced and also met the other qualification requirements.
In addition, through the new “Auctions-as-a-service” mechanism, 350 million euros in national funding has been made available by Germany for the highest-ranked projects in Germany which did not qualify for EU-level support, but which do meet the eligibility criteria.
The seven selected projects will now start preparing their individual grant agreements with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). These agreements are expected to be signed by November 2024 at the latest.
A second European Hydrogen Bank auction is planned to be launched by the end of this year.