Posted on 22 Nov 2023
The European Commission will open the second round of auctions to support the production of renewable hydrogen within the EU in spring 2024, EC President Ursula von der Leyen announced Monday.
The European Hydrogen Bank, launched in October last year, will have a budget of €3 billion ($3.3 billion). The auction’s first pilot is scheduled to open on Thursday, offering an initial €800 million to renewable hydrogen producers in the European Economic Area (EEA), Kallanish notes.
Earlier this year, the EC said it would offer auction winners a fixed premium of up to €4.5/kilogram of renewable hydrogen for 10 years of operation. To be eligible, however, the projects must start operation within five years of signing the grant agreement, have a minimum of 5 megawatts of newly installed electrolyser capacity, and other criteria.
Speaking at the European Hydrogen Week in Brussels, von der Leyen said the EU will make access to public financing easier by “creating a one-stop-shop under the European Hydrogen Bank” and directly linking hydrogen producers and consumers. She did not, however, say how much will be made available in the second auction.
“In parallel, we are also working on the international leg of the European Hydrogen Bank,” she added. “This will secure diversified imports of renewable hydrogen from reliable suppliers abroad.”
To develop a global market for clean hydrogen, the EU has signed hydrogen partnerships with several countries, including Egypt, Kenya, Namibia, and Latin American countries. The EU is also building one of the world’s biggest hydrogen projects in Piauí, Brazil, as part of a €2 billion Global Gateway investment in Brazil’s hydrogen value chain, von der Leyen announced.
The 10-gigawatt Green Energy Park will ship green hydrogen and ammonia to the island of Krk in Croatia, for transport into offtakers in South-East Europe.
“All of this shows, more than ever, that Europe is not only a clean hydrogen pioneer, but also a partner – to build a worldwide hydrogen market,” she added. “With these public investments, we are helping attract and mobilise massive private capital.”
Source:Kallanish
