The European Commission on May 7 awarded €1.09 billion from the EU Innovation Fund to nine renewable hydrogen projects across seven countries, according to results published by DG CLIMA. The third European Hydrogen Bank auction confirms that competitive bidding has settled into a sustainable corridor — and shifts the geography of EU hydrogen production northward.
Bid breakdown
The auction was structured around three baskets covering RFNBO production, maritime applications and a derivatives pilot. Bids ranged from €0.44/kg (Finland’s Cloudberry project, the auction’s lowest) to €3.49/kg, with selected projects clustered near the lower end of the range.
- 9 projects selected across Greece, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Germany and Norway
- 1.1 GW of electrolyser capacity to be deployed
- 1.3 Mt of RFNBO and low-carbon hydrogen over 10 years of operation
- Bid range: €0.44 – €3.49/kg as a premium over the reference price
- Three Nordic projects (Finland, Denmark, Norway) — a first for the Hydrogen Bank
Key stat
In the RFNBO basket alone, 50 bids requesting a combined €7.3 billion competed for a €600 million envelope — a 12× oversubscription. — European Commission, DG CLIMA.
Context
The Hydrogen Bank is the EU’s flagship support mechanism for domestic hydrogen production, designed to bridge the price gap between renewable hydrogen and grey hydrogen produced from natural gas. The first auction (April 2024) closed at bid prices well below the original cap of €4.5/kg. The second pilot auction, focused on maritime applications and concluded in late 2024, attracted a smaller field. Round 3 marks a return to broad participation and confirms a competitive corridor consistent with industry expectations.
The selection also shifts the geography of EU support. Three Nordic projects (Finland, Denmark, Norway) sit alongside southern European projects in Greece and Spain, reflecting a maturation of project pipelines outside the traditional Iberian and German clusters that dominated round 1. See our hydrogen coverage for context on European electrolyser capacity buildout.
What’s next
Grant agreements are expected to be signed in Q3 2026, with first electrolyser orders by year-end and commissioning targets between 2028 and 2030. The Commission is also preparing the design of a fourth auction incorporating an imports pillar — a long-debated channel for premium payments to producers outside the EU. Industry observers most often cite Morocco, Chile and Namibia as candidate exporters, though no shortlist has yet been formalised.
Further reading: EU energy policy tracking on Energy News.