The European Hydrogen Bank’s second auction results, announced in May 2025, have injected a significant €992 million into 15 renewable hydrogen projects across Europe. These projects are expected to produce 2.2 million tonnes of hydrogen over the next decade, avoiding roughly 15 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. This is not just another headline figure; it’s a clear sign that the EU is starting to turn hydrogen ambitions into tangible investments, bolstering climate targets, energy resilience, and industrial competitiveness.
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, highlights the evolution in the geographic and sectoral distribution of projects. “Spain leads with eight selected projects, while Germany and the Netherlands appear for the first time,” he notes. This suggests a growing appetite and potentially greater willingness to invest in or pay for renewable hydrogen in these countries. Finland is also represented, and Norway was awarded all three maritime projects. Each project received funding ranging from €8m to €246m over ten years, depending on their scale, complexity, and projected output.
One of the most discussed features of the auction was the low premium level requested by most of the winning general projects – below €0.50 per kilogram of hydrogen. While this figure aligns with bids from the first auction held in April 2024, Chatzimarkakis cautions that it should be interpreted with care. “It may indicate growing experience and efficiency in the sector, a high level of competition among project developers, and a limited available funding environment,” he explains.
In the maritime window, the subsidies awarded were significantly higher, reaching up to €1.88 per kilogram. This reflects the true level of support required in the capital-intensive shipping sector, where technological maturity is lower, infrastructure is scarcer, and the operational challenges are greater. “Hydrogen-based fuel alternatives for shipping remain one of the most efficient decarbonisation pathways for the maritime sector, but require massive investments to be available at scale,” Chatzimarkakis states.
However, he warns that using hydrogen-based fuels in the maritime sector is still far from bankable at scale. “There are still major gaps between policy and regulatory ambition, technological readiness, and the financial certainty required by investors. For projects to move forward, clearer regulations, stronger demand signals, and continued public support are needed to transform these early-stage projects into true market transformation.”
If all selected projects from the second auction reach Final Investment Decision (FID), Europe’s committed electrolyser capacity could increase from 2.7 GW to nearly 5 GW. While this may still fall short of what is needed to meet the EU’s 2030 climate targets, it signals that the Hydrogen Bank can play a meaningful role in accelerating deployment. Its long-term potential will depend on how its impact is scaled and supported in the broader policy and investment landscape.
Chatzimarkakis emphasizes that the Hydrogen Bank represents an emerging model of industrial policy in the EU – one that puts decarbonisation, energy resilience, and economic competitiveness on equal footing. “This is not just about meeting emissions targets. It is about making sure European industry stays ahead in the global race to scale clean technologies.”
One notable strength of the European Hydrogen Bank framework is the emerging ‘Auction-as-a-Service’ model. This mechanism is designed to complement EU-level auctions by enabling national governments to organise their own hydrogen auctions under a harmonised EU-supported structure. “By providing a common set of guidelines, evaluation criteria and technical support, the model helps streamline how auctions are conducted across Member States,” Chatzimarkakis explains. “This brings structure, ensures consistency in design, transparency through shared rules and open competition, and competitiveness by lowering entry barriers and encouraging more project developers to participate under clear and predictable conditions.”
Through the main European Hydrogen Bank auction, the fixed premium per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced helps narrow the cost gap between green hydrogen and its fossil-based counterparts. This core mechanism of the EHB provides direct EU-level support to early-stage projects. “It sends a clear signal: when public funding is well-targeted, it can lower production costs and bring projects closer to viability,” Chatzimarkakis states. “This is not a blank cheque, but a carefully designed incentive to generate momentum where it’s most needed.”
Another crucial evolution introduced for the upcoming third auction is the addition of resilience criteria aimed at strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy. Specifically, to meet the resilience threshold, projects must ensure that no more than 25% of the electrolyser stack capacity is sourced from China. “This requirement reflects the EU’s growing concern about over-reliance on a single supplier country, given China’s current dominance in global electrolyser manufacturing,” Chatzimarkakis notes. “While this is only a first step, it signals a deliberate move toward greater supply chain diversification.”