IF23 Auction for renewable hydrogen production

Timeline

07/10/2024
Grants award
6 of 7 selected projects^*signed their grant agreements. The total amount of support came to around €694 million, to be disbursed over 10 years. Together, the projects could produce up to 1.52 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen, avoiding more than 10 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions during their first 10 years of operation.
These projects submitted bids between €0.37 and €0.48 per kilogram of RFNBO (renewable fuel of non-biological origin) hydrogen produced. Based on the pay-as-bid design of the pilot auction, they will receive a grant ranging between €8 million and €245 million.
The renewable hydrogen produced by these projects will be used in sectors such as agriculture, maritime, and heavy-duty transport, as well as in the production of e-methane and e-methanol. Moreover, these projects will employ alkaline, proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers or a combination of both.
* One of the 7 initially selected projects chose not to continue with the process to avoid failing to meet the entry-into-operation deadline.
30/11/2024
Publication of auction results
After evaluation, 7 renewable hydrogen projects were selected to receive nearly €720 million in project support from the Innovation Fund.
08/02/2024
Deadline to submit applications
When the auction closed, it had attracted 132 bids from 17 European countries. Of these, 119 proposals were considered eligible and admissible. After being evaluated by the Fund’s implementing body, the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), the projects were ranked from lowest to highest bid and awarded support in that order. The submitted bids ranged from €0.37 to €4.5 (ceiling price) per kilogram of hydrogen produced.
20/12/2023
Germany announces participation in the “Auction-as-a-Service” scheme
Germany was the first Member State to participate in the “Auctions-as-a-Service” scheme.
23/11/2023
Launch of the auction
The IF23 Auction was the first EU-wide auction for the production of renewable or RFNBO hydrogen.
29/08/2023
Publication of the IF23 Auction Terms and Conditions
- Terms and Conditions
13/06/2023
Stakeholder consultation
This consultation was the first one since the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) Directive.
29/03/2023
Innovation Fund Expert Group meeting
Presentation of the survey’s main results.
07/02/2023
Market survey
The survey aimed to identify market needs in terms of project pipeline.

Auction design

Unlike regular grants, auctions are market-based instruments for funding innovative low-carbon technologies under the Innovation Fund.

The implementation of the Fund’s renewable hydrogen auctions is the domestic pillar of the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB), which establishes a financing and coordination platform to secure cost-efficient and renewable hydrogen across Europe.

Awarded projects

The following 6 projects will produce renewable, electrolytic hydrogen and must start production within 5 years of signing their grant agreements. Furthermore, they will only be awarded their fixed premium subsidy for up to 10 years upon certification and verification of renewable hydrogen production.

Project	Coordinator	Country	Bid volume (kt_H₂ / 10 yrs)	Bid capacity (MWe - megawatts electricity)	Expected GHG avoidance (kt_CO₂ / 10 yrs)	Bid price (EUR/kg)
eNRG Lahti	Nordic Ren-Gas Oy	Finland	122	90	836	0.37
Grey2Green-II	Petrogal S.A.	Portugal	216	200	1477	0.39
HYSENCIA	Angus	Spain	17	35	115	0.48
SKIGA	Skiga	Norway	169	117	1159	0.48
Catalina	Renato Ptx Holdco	Spain	480	500	3284	0.48
MP2X	Madoquapower 2x	Portugal	511	500	3494	0.48

Beyond winning projects

Check our slides to learn more about the auction’s full results: