European Commission funds hydrogen projects

The selected projects will receive a total of around €1.09 billion in EU funding from the Innovation Fund, sourced from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The produced hydrogen will help reduce emissions from energy-intensive industries such as transport and chemicals. The projects are expected to strengthen Europe's industrial leadership, long-term competitiveness and jobs, and contribute to EU's clean transition, energy independence and security.

The auction awards successful projects with a subsidy to help cover the price difference between their production costs and the market price. The objective is to incentivise clean hydrogen production and use. Upon signature of their grant agreements, the nine selected projects will receive a fixed premium of between €0.44 and €3.49 per kilogramme of certified and verified hydrogen produced, for a maximum period of 10 years.

The selected projects under the renewable hydrogen fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) General topic:

• AN-1-B, coordinated by HELLENIC HYDROGEN A.E.
• T2X, coordinated by TURN2X Asset Co II EXTREMADURA SL.
• NJK, coordinated by MorGen.
• ALBA, coordinated by Hy2gen Nordic AS.
• Hy4IND, coordinated by Wiener Wasserstoff GmbH.

List of selected projects under the RFNBO Low Carbon topic:

• Cloudberry, coordinated by Vetyalfa Oy.
• Lotse, coordinated by Lotse.

List of selected projects under the Maritime-Aviation topic:

• Gen2-LH2, coordinated by Gen2 Energy AS.
• RogalandH2, coordinated by GREEN H AS.

The auction allocates financial support through a competitive bidding process, designed to maximise GHG emission reductions while supporting market price discovery. Projects were ranked according to their bid price, reflecting the level of support required per kilogram of clean hydrogen produced. Following an assessment of their eligibility and quality, the projects were selected in ascending order of bid price until the available Innovation Fund budget was fully allocated.

In addition, Spain and Germany are participating through the Auctions-as-a-Service feature, adding a further €1.7 billion in national funds. This enables Member States to use national resources to support projects in their own territories that have applied to the auction. This feature reduces administrative burden and ensures a coordinated and cost-efficient allocation of public support across Europe. Germany will support RFNBO hydrogen production with up to €1.3 billion, and Spain will contribute up to €440 million. Projects placed on the Innovation Fund reserve list that fall within the budget made available by participating Member States, and in line with the overall ranking order, may be transferred to the relevant national authorities to begin grant agreement preparations. This possibility will be offered to three projects located in Spain and three located in Denmark. ‘Auctions-as-a-service' is open to all Member States, enabling them to benefit from the EU-level auction platform and award national funding to additional projects with simplified procedure.

Next steps

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)?will start the formal preparation of grant agreements with the selected projects. This step will confirm the final conditions of the financial support, including the awarded fixed premium per kilogram of hydrogen and the implementation timeline. Agreements are expected to be signed in the 4Q26.

The selected projects will have to reach financial close within two and a half years of grant signature and enter into operation within five years. These commitments are backed by a completion guarantee provided by the projects to the Commission.

CINEA will continue to monitor progress throughout implementation to ensure projects are delivered as planned and support is used in line with the agreed terms.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/08052026/european-commission-funds-hydrogen-projects/