(Brussels / Belgium) – The second auction of the European Hydrogen Bank for the production of renewable hydrogen received 61 bids from projects in eleven countries. Eight of these were specifically submitted for the maritime sector.
Applications for 6,3 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity
The total funding requested amounts to more than €4,8 billion, with €1,2 billion available. All submitted bids would result in a total electrolyzer capacity of approximately 6,3 gigawatts (GW). Over a period of ten years, these projects would produce more than 7,3 million tons of renewable hydrogen.
Funding totaling €4,8 billion has been requested for the second auction of the European Hydrogen Bank. © EU Commission / Bogdan Hoyaux
The European Hydrogen Bank is an initiative to promote the EU-internal production and import of renewable hydrogen into and to Europe. It supports manufacturers based in the European Economic Area in setting up production facilities – not to be confused with the similarly structured dual-auction system of the German H2Global Foundation , which brings together producers, most of whom are based in non-EU countries, and buyers in Germany and Europe.
Producers have submitted bids for support in the form of a fixed premium per kilogram of renewable hydrogen (pay-as-bid), granted over a period of up to ten years. The premium covers the gap between production costs and the price buyers are currently willing to pay for renewable hydrogen—in a market where hydrogen from fossil sources is still cheaper to produce than from renewable sources. Bids for the auctions are ranked from lowest to highest bid price and are awarded until the auction budget is exhausted.
Auctions as a service
EU Member States can also benefit from a mechanism called ‘auctions-as-a-service’ to finance projects that participated in the auction but were not selected due to budget constraints.
States can use their own national funds for support in their territory without having to conduct a separate auction at the national level, which reduces administrative burdens and costs for all parties involved.
Funds approved for Austria and Lithuania
As reported, Spain, Lithuania, and Austria announced their participation in this second auction, providing up to €836 million in national funds. Earlier this week, the Commission approved aid schemes totaling €400 million for Austria and €36 million for Lithuania.
The support is available to companies planning to build new electrolyzers in Austria and Lithuania. This will support the production of up to 112.000 tons of renewable hydrogen in Austria and 13.000 tons of renewable hydrogen in Lithuania. An EU notification regarding the Spanish government's planned participation was still pending at the time of writing.
It continues like this
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) will now evaluate the submitted bids. The results will determine the recipients of the grants. The results will be communicated by the end of May 2025. Once all issues related to the protection of confidential data have been resolved, the Commission says, the decisions will be made publicly available.
The grant agreements are to be signed by November 2025 at the latest. The selected projects must then complete financing within 2,5 years and begin producing renewable hydrogen within five years. They will receive the premium once production has been certified and verified.
The Hydrogen Bank’s third auction is scheduled to start before the end of 2025.
Photos
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is now evaluating the submitted bids. The winners of the auction will be announced by the end of May 2025. © EU Commission / Christophe Licoppe
