Von Der Leyen announces €3bn European Hydrogen Bank auction round in 2024

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen has announced plans for a second European Hydrogen Bank auction round, with a total value of €3bn ($3.28).

Speaking virtually at the start of European Hydrogen Week in Brussels November 20, von der Leyen said the second round would launch in spring 2024 in a bid to reduce the cost gap between renewable and fossil hydrogen.

“In spring 2024, we will launch the second round of auctions, reaching a total value of €3bn,” the President said. “It is a promise we made one year ago, and it is now becoming a reality.”

The first pilot auction is set to open on Thursday (November 23), awarding up to €800m ($875m) to renewable hydrogen producers in the European Economic Area (EEA) by offering a fixed premium per kg of renewable hydrogen produced over 10 years.

In the terms and conditions published in August (2023), the Commission set a ceiling price of the fixed premium of €4.5/kg, provided the projects come into operation and demonstrate at least 100% of the nameplate capacity expressed in the bid, within five years of signing the funding contract.

As well as the spring auctions, von der Leyen said the Commission was working on the “international leg” of the European Hydrogen Bank in an attempt to diversify imports of renewable hydrogen.

The EU has been on a steady march in recent months to build international hydrogen relationships with countries including Egypt, Kenya, Namibia, as well as South American nations.

“They have immense potential to produce clean energy, transform it into clean hydrogen, and then ship it to the world,” von der Leyen remarked.

The President also hinted that further initiatives will be announced over the course of European Hydrogen Week, with the likes of Kazakhstan, Australia and Oman, as the bloc looks to achieve its REPowerEU 2030 target of importing 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen.

“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. With these public investments we are helping attract and mobilise massive private capital,” she said.