Winners of €1 billion European Hydrogen Bank auction revealed, with three maritime projects on the list

The European Commission (EC) has selected the winners of the second European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) auction, which will receive nearly €1 billion in funding to produce renewable hydrogen, including producers with off-takers in the maritime sector.

The second EHB auction was launched in December 2024 and ended on February 20, 2025, attracting 61 bids from projects in 11 countries, with eight bids submitted by hydrogen producers with off-takers in the maritime sector.

On May 20, the Commission announced the selection of 15 renewable hydrogen production projects across the European Economic Area (EEA), which will receive a total of €992 million from the Innovation Fund sourced from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

Located across five countries, the selected projects are expected to produce nearly 2.2 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years in sectors such as transportation, the chemical industry, or the production of methanol and ammonia, avoiding more than 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The subsidy will help the winning bidders close the price difference between their production costs and the market price and accelerate the deployment of cleaner fuels,