The Commission has announced the selection of 15 renewable hydrogen production projects for public funding across the European Economic Area (EEA). The projects are located across five countries - Spain, Finland, Germany, Netherlands and Norway - and are expected to produce nearly 2.2 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years, helping to prevent more than 15 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The hydrogen will be used in key sectors such as transport, the chemical industry, and the production of methanol and ammonia. 

The EU will allocate a total of €992 million in funding through the Innovation Fund, which is financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), a carbon emission trading scheme that limits emissions of pollutants over an area and allows trading of emission allowances. Each subsidy for the 15 projects ranges from €8 million and €246 million over a period up to 10 years.

The 15 winning projects, selected through the second European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) auction, will receive a subsidy that helps to close the price difference between their production costs and the market price. This financial support is designed to accelerate the deployment of cleaner fuels across Europe.

The auctions of the European Hydrogen Bank play a key role in scaling up renewable hydrogen production, which is essential for replacing natural gas, coal, and oil in hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as heavy industry and transport. Producing more renewable hydrogen will decrease the use of fossil fuels on our continent and increase the EU's energy independence and positively impact security, jobs and the decarbonisation of European industry.

Spain, Lithuania, and Austria are collectively allocating up to €836 million in national funding for projects in their countries through the ‘Auctions-as-a-Service' mechanism. This initiative enables Member States to support eligible projects that meet the criteria of the European Hydrogen Bank auction but could not be financed by the Innovation Fund due to limited EU budget resources. ‘Auctions-as-a-service' is open to all Member States, enabling them to benefit from the EU-level auction platform and award national funding to additional projects under simplified procedures. 

The selected projects will now be invited to prepare their grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Agreements are expected to be signed by September or October 2025.

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 a period of 5 years. They will receive the fixed premium subsidy for a period of up to ten years for certified and verified renewable hydrogen production. As announced in the Clean Industrial Deal, a third European Hydrogen Bank auction is planned for end 2025 with a budget of up to €1 billion.

The Commission will soon also launch the Hydrogen Mechanism under the European Hydrogen Bank, an online platform that brings together buyers and sellers and enable market participants to share information and find potential commercial partners.

B2EU closely monitors the availability of financial resources under EU funding mechanisms such as the Innovation Fund. Follow our website and LinkedIn page to receive the latest news.