The new Industrial Revolution is about clean technology. Hydrogen is one of them and the global race to master this promising technology has started. The creation of the European Hydrogen Bank, announced a little over a year ago by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was a watershed moment for Europe’s hydrogen economy. On top of the important regulatory work being done to create the framework for this nascent market, we now had a much-needed support scheme administered at the European level for the continent’s first major hydrogen projects.

The terms and conditions of this bank were published at the end of August, with the most welcome announcement that the bank’s pilot auction would be launched at the end of November with a budget of €800 million. This date also happens to coincide with the European Hydrogen Week event in Brussels!

The bank will offer project developers a subsidy for every kilogram of hydrogen produced of up to €4.5 per kilo. This will help us establish a domestic supply of this much needed molecule – which can be used in a wide range of sectors to help us decarbonise our economy, from industry and mobility to power production and storage. This fantastic opportunity for Europe’s leaders in this innovative sector will help their projects reach final investment decisions and get to producing hydrogen as quickly as possible, creating the market, and helping to bring prices down as they show the best path to those who will come after them.

As mentioned, this auction is only the pilot. Success here will lead to more auctions being announced, hopefully with more funds available so that we can accelerate the scale up of this crucial industry. Soon, polluting processes like steelmaking, fertilisers, and cement will be decarbonised with domestically produced green hydrogen. Long-range trucks, distributing essential goods to people across Europe, will fill up on clean hydrogen on their journeys. And renewable energy producers will be able to use hydrogen as a means of storage to avoid wasting power where it would otherwise be curtailed! For example, Germany lost €4.2 billion worth of renewable power last year to curtailment – letting excess renewable generation go to waste due to a lack of grid capacity. Hydrogen will save us money and provide us with more energy security.