In April 2026, the European Commission successfully closed the first round of activities of the Hydrogen Mechanism operated under the EU Energy and Raw Materials Platform. During this first round, the Hydrogen Mechanism gave future producers of hydrogen a transparent way to test demand for their specific projects and find potential offtakers, without the administrative burden of running individual processes. Suppliers responded in turn: supply opportunities from 265 different projects were registered, covering renewable and low-carbon hydrogen and derivatives.
EU awards over €1 billion to European hydrogen projects to accelerate the clean transition
In May 2026, the European Commission has selected nine hydrogen production projects under the third auction of the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB). Across seven countries in the European Economic Area, the projects are expected to provide almost 1.1 giga-watts of electrolyser capacity and produce over 1.3 million tonnes of hydrogen over their first 10 years of operation, with an estimated greenhouse gas emissions avoidance of 9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
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.