Spain, Lithuania, and Austria are set to allocate more than EUR 700 million (USD 739.5 million) in national funds to support domestic renewable hydrogen production projects through the Auctions-as-a-Service scheme within the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB), the European Commission (EC) announced on Monday. This funding boost brings the total mobilized for the second EHB auction to nearly EUR 2 billion.
Spain will dedicate between EUR 280 million and EUR 400 million, with the exact amount depending on the funds utilized in its existing State aid scheme for hydrogen clusters and valleys, which will be finalized by next spring.
Lithuania plans to invest around EUR 36 million, aiming to meet its national goal of 1.3 GW of electrolysis capacity and 129 kilotonnes of renewable hydrogen production annually by 2030.
Austria has committed EUR 400 million from its national budget to offer grants up to EUR 200 million for hydrogen producers, potentially supporting production capacities of up to 300 MW.
The Auctions-as-a-Service scheme enables EU Member States to fund more projects on a domestic level, even when the Innovation Fund's budget for the EU-wide auctions has been exhausted. Winning projects will receive a fixed premium (pay-as-bid) for up to 10 years to help cover the cost difference between hydrogen production and market prices.
The second EU-wide renewable hydrogen auction (IF24) is scheduled for December 3, 2024, with a budget of EUR 1.2 billion.
