The EU Commission has awarded nearly €720m to seven renewable hydrogen projects selected through the first competitive bidding process under the European Hydrogen Bank. The selected projects were the winners of an oversubscribed auction which attracted 132 bids from 17 European countries for a €800m budget. The selected bidders plan to produce 1.58 Mt of renewable hydrogen over 10 years to be used in sectors such as steel, chemicals, maritime transport and fertilisers, helping to avoid more than 10 MtCO2 emissions. To do so, the awardees should receive a subsidy ranging from €8m to €245m to bridge the price difference between their production costs and the market price for hydrogen, which is currently driven by non-renewable producers. The winning bids were between €0.37/kg and €0.48/kg of renewable hydrogen produced, with them being located in Spain, Portugal, Finland and Norway.
The European Hydrogen Bank is an initiative to facilitate the EU's domestic production and imports of renewable hydrogen. It aims to unlock private investment in the EU and in third countries by addressing investment challenges, closing the funding gap and connecting future renewable hydrogen supply to consumers. The funds for this auction come from the revenues of the EU Emissions Trading System.
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