Projects for the production of hydrogen from renewable sources will receive European funding. The projects, located in five countries (Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Norway), are expected to produce nearly 2.2 million tonnes of hydrogen from renewable sources over a ten-year period, thereby avoiding over 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The hydrogen will be produced in sectors such as transport, the chemical industry and the production of methanol and ammonia. The 15 winning projects will receive a total of €992 million in EU funding from the Innovation Fund, financed by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
The successful candidates following the second call of the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) will produce hydrogen from renewable sources in Europe with a subsidy that will help bridge the price gap between their production costs and the market price and accelerate the deployment of cleaner fuels.
The European Hydrogen Bank’s tenders contribute to increasing the use of hydrogen from renewable sources, which in turn will help replace natural gas, coal and oil in the hard-to-decarbonise industrial and transport sectors. Producing more hydrogen from renewable sources will reduce the use of fossil fuels on our continent and increase the EU’s energy independence and have a positive impact on security, jobs and the decarbonisation of European industry.
Of the selected projects, 12 have committed to producing hydrogen from renewable sources with a fixed premium support of between EUR 0.20 and EUR 0.60 per kilogram. For the first time, the tender provided a special budget for hydrogen producers with representatives from the maritime sector who are entities using hydrogen produced under the project to carry out or use bunkering activities. As a result, three bids were selected, for which €96.7 million in grants were awarded. These projects will require between €0.45 and €1.88 per kilogram. Each grant for the 15 projects ranges from €8 million to €246 million for a period of up to 10 years.
At the same time, Spain, Lithuania and Austria are providing up to €836 million in national funding for projects in their countries through the “tenders as a service” function. This allows Member States to identify and finance eligible projects on their territory that meet the tender’s eligibility criteria but cannot be financed by the Innovation Fund due to budget constraints. ‘Procurementas a service’ is open to all Member States, allowing them to benefit from the EU-wide procurement platform and award national funding to additional projects through a simplified procedure.
Next steps
The selected projects will be invited to prepare their grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The agreements are expected to be signed by September/October 2025.
Signed projects must reach financial closure within a maximum of two and a half years after signing and start producing hydrogen from renewable sources within a period of 5 years. They will receive a fixed grant for up to ten years for certified and verified production of hydrogen from renewable sources. As announced in the Clean Industry Pact, a third call for proposals for the European Hydrogen Bank is planned for the end of 2025 with a budget of up to €1 billion.
The Commission will also soon launch the hydrogen mechanism within the European Hydrogen Bank. This online platform will bring together buyers and sellers and enable market participants to share information and find potential trading partners.
For more information: EC
