European Commission Awards €1.09 Billion to Nine Hydrogen Production Projects

The European Commission has selected nine hydrogen production projects under the third auction of the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB). The projects, distributed across seven countries in the European Economic Area, will receive a total of €1.09 billion in funding from the Innovation Fund, sourced from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

The selected projects are expected to provide approximately 1.1 gigawatts of electrolyser capacity and produce over 1.3 million tonnes of hydrogen during their first 10 years of operation. This production is estimated to avoid 9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions.

Successful bidders will receive fixed premiums ranging from €0.44 to €3.49 per kilogram of certified hydrogen produced for up to 10 years. The subsidy structure is designed to cover the price difference between production costs and market prices, incentivizing clean hydrogen development for energy-intensive industries including transport and chemicals.

Germany and Spain are participating through the Auctions-as-a-Service feature, committing an additional €1.7 billion in national funds—€1.3 billion from Germany and €440 million from Spain. Selected projects must achieve financial close within two and a half years of grant signature and enter operation within five years.

The third auction received 58 bids from 11 countries, representing over 6 times oversubscription of the €1.3 billion budget. Grant agreements are expected to be signed in the last quarter of 2026.

Originally reported by Hydrogen Central. Read the full article →