Europe awards green hydrogen funding for 7 projects

The European Commission is awarding nearly €720m to seven renewable hydrogen projects in Europe, selected through the first competitive bidding process under the European Hydrogen Bank.

The funds for this auction come from the revenues of the EU Emissions Trading System. The winning bidders, drawn from four countries, will produce renewable hydrogen in Europe and will receive a subsidy – ranging from €8m-€245m – to bridge the price difference between their production costs and the market price for hydrogen, which is currently driven by non-renewable producers.

The seven selected projects were the winners of an oversubscribed auction which attracted 132 bids, and submitted bids between €0.37 and €0.48 per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced, while also meeting other qualification requirements.

Together, the winning bidders plan to produce 1.58 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years, avoiding more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The European Hydrogen Bank is contributing to the scale-up of cleaner fuels which will contribute to the decarbonisation of European industry. The renewable hydrogen produced will be used in sectors such as steel, chemicals, maritime transport and fertilisers.

Meanwhile the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the European Commission are working on a Saudi-EU Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on energy cooperation, which aims to conclude in a few months.

It follows talks between European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson and HRH the Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

They discussed energy and clean tech cooperation to strengthen bilateral ties and advance the goals of the Paris Agreement and of the outcomes of the UAE Consensus reached at COP28 in Dubai last year. Talks include integrating renewable energy into the electricity grid, interconnection and infrastructure, hydrogen and clean tech, and CCUS.