Press Release  

Brussels, 20 May 2025  

The results of the second auction of the European Hydrogen Bank have been published: 15 projects across the EU will receive a total of €992 million, with the goal to produce 2.2 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years, avoiding 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Hydrogen Europe congratulates its members on the successful submission of the projects!

The selected projects span strategic sectors such as transport, chemicals, methanol, and ammonia production. Backed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the funding will help bridge the gap between renewable hydrogen production costs and current market prices, thereby accelerating the deployment of cleaner energy alternatives.

In the general basket:

• Premium requested by the awarded project promoters ranged from 0.2 €/kg to 0.6 €/kg.
• Most projects asked for support below 0.5 €/kg, confirming the values from the first auction.
• Most projects awarded are located in Spain (8), followed by Germany (2), the Netherlands (1), and Finland (1).
• The largest projects are based in Germany and the Netherlands.

In the maritime basket:

• The premium requested by the awarded project promoters ranged from 0.45 €/kg to 1.88 €/kg.
• All projects are based in Norway (3).

Each subsidy for the 15 projects ranges from €8 million to €246 million over a period up to 10 years. If all projects awarded by the second auction of the European Hydrogen Bank reach Final Investment Decision (FID), Europe would almost double the current FIDs in Europe from 2.7 GWel to 5GWel.

“The results of the second auction confirm the price ranges from last year’s pilot auction, also showing strong expectations for the offtaker to cover price increases, driven by strong policies like RED III. The winning projects in Germany and the Netherlands, being the largest, are a positive market signal, demonstrating that economies of scale and being close to industrial demand favours project development,” says Daniel Fraile, Chief Policy & Market Officer at Hydrogen Europe.

Additionally, results are still pending for the ‘Auction-as-a-Service’ feature, where Spain, Lithuania, and Austria are allocating up to €836 million in national funding for projects in their countries. 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 five years. They will receive the fixed premium subsidy for a period of up to ten years for certified and verified renewable hydrogen production.

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

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For more information: 

• European Commission press release
• Innovation Fund – competitive bidding
• IF24 Auction
• Joint press release by the European Commission, Spain, Lithuania and Austria on the European Hydrogen Bank’s ‘Auctions-as-a-Service’ scheme, increasing the funding for clean investments
• EU Funding & Tenders Portal
• European Hydrogen Bank
• Innovation Fund dashboard
• Innovation Fund projects
• Innovation Fund