The initial auction of the European Hydrogen Bank has resulted in the allocation of €720 million ($768.3 million) to seven renewable hydrogen projects located in Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Spain.
Collectively, these projects aim to generate 1.58 million tons of renewable hydrogen within a span of 10 years.
The European Commission has allocated almost €720 million to seven renewable hydrogen projects in Europe.
These projects, chosen through a competitive bidding process under the European Hydrogen Bank, will generate renewable hydrogen for use in industries such as steel, chemicals, maritime transport, and fertilizers.
Out of 132 bids, the seven selected projects are spread across Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Spain. Together, they aim to produce 1.58 million tons of renewable hydrogen over a decade.
The bids submitted ranged from €0.37/kg to €0.48/kg of renewable hydrogen produced, well below the auction’s ceiling price of €4.50/kg.
These projects also met other qualifying criteria and will receive subsidies ranging from €8 million to €245 million.
The largest project in terms of volume is located in Sines, Portugal, where a consortium including Madoqua Renewables, Power2X, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners plans to produce renewable hydrogen over ten years.
The second largest project is situated in the northeastern Spanish province of Teruel, with Renato Ptx Holdco aiming to produce 480,000 tons of hydrogen.
The seven chosen projects will begin the process of creating separate grant agreements with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.
These agreements are anticipated to be finalized and signed no later than November 2024. Within five years of signing the grant agreement, the projects must commence the production of renewable hydrogen.
They will be eligible to receive a fixed premium subsidy for up to 10 years for the certified and verified production of renewable hydrogen.
The commission has announced plans to initiate a second European Hydrogen Bank auction before the year ends.
It stated that it will incorporate insights gained from the initial auction and engage with stakeholders before commencing the auction.
In the meantime, the German government is allocating €350 million in national funding for projects that were not eligible for EU-level support in the previous auction, but still met the criteria.
This funding will be distributed through the innovative “auctions-as-a-service” mechanism, enabling member states to leverage an EU-level auction platform and provide national funding to supplementary projects.
“I encourage other member states to follow Germany’s lead, and make use of the ‘auctions-as-a-service’ to support renewable hydrogen production at national level using our European auction platform,” said Wopke Hoekstra, commissioner for Climate Action.
Source The European Commission
