EU plans second green hydrogen auction by year-end

European Commission encouraged by high demand for production subsidies offered through first pilot of European Hydrogen Bank auction

The European Commission aims to launch a second auction of electrolytic hydrogen production subsidies by the end of the year after an initial pilot auction was heavily oversubscribed. The pilot auction drew 132 bids spanning 17 countries, with requests for funding “far exceeding” the budget of €800m ($865m), the European Commission said. Bids were submitted for projects totalling 8.5GW of electrolyser capacity, enough to meet 10% of the EU’s 2030 green hydrogen production target. Subsidies in the form of a fixed premium per kg of renewable hydrogen produced, for up to ten years, will be paid out via the European Hydrogen Bank, a financial vehicle aimed at supporting domestic EU green hydroge