The European Commission awarded on 30 April 2024 almost EUR 720 million to seven renewable hydrogen production (H2R) projects in Europe, selected in the first tender of the European Hydrogen Bank. These funds come from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The winning projects will produce renewable hydrogen and receive grants to reduce the price gap between their production costs and the market price of hydrogen, thus contributing to industrial decarbonisation. The projects, located in four European countries, plan to produce 1.58 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years, avoiding the emission of more than 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The winning bids ranged from EUR 0.37 to EUR 0.48/kg of renewable hydrogen. In addition, Germany has made EUR 350 million available for projects that do not qualify for EU support but meet the eligibility criteria, through an “Auction-as-a-Service” mechanism.
The projects will start preparing their respective grant agreements with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) to be finalised by November 2024. The projects are expected to start production within a maximum of 5 years. The Commission plans a second auction by the end of the year, based on the experience of this pilot auction.
The Innovation Fund is the EU’s main funding programme for net zero emission technologies, with a budget of EUR 40 billion. The European Hydrogen Bank, announced in 2022 by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will facilitate the local production and import of renewable hydrogen to Europe. The first auction received 132 bids from 17 European countries, requesting more than 15 times the budget of EUR 800 million.
Photo Credit: European Commission / Innovation Fund