Press release
Brussels, 26 February 2024
Hydrogen Bank and more funding mechanisms to support Europe’s clean tech future
As part of today’s announcement from the European Commission on the Clean Industrial Deal, three important announcements on the funding side took also place:
- The 3rd Hydrogen Bank call has been confirmed to take place in Q3 2025 with a budget of €1 billion.
- This year will also see the launch of a €1 billion pilot auction on the decarbonisation of key industrial processes across various sectors supporting industrial decarbonisation and electrification.
- Finally, an Industrial Decarbonisation Bank is planned for Q2 2026 with a budget of €100 billion.
“Hydrogen Europe welcomes the continuation of the Hydrogen Bank with its 3rd auction call. It is a key instrument for supporting the most competitive projects across Europe in the short term and it should be given a long-term perspective beyond 2025, with an increased budget. Hydrogen Bank projects rely on the long-term commitments of offtakers, and funding from the bank will reassure offtakers of the projects’ economic viability. By investing in Europe’s clean tech future now, we will reap both the economic and climate rewards in the years to come,” said Daniel Fraile, Chief Policy & Market Officer at Hydrogen Europe.
The Industrial Decarbonisation Bank will derive its budget from the Innovation Fund, additional revenues resulting from parts of the ETS, and the revision of InvestEU, while operating under the governance of the future Competitiveness Fund (MFF).
“The introduction of a new Industrial Decarbonisation Bank is exactly what we have been asking for. We now expect that the potential of the €100 billion will be fully reached and not fall short of expectations because it will merely rely on mobilising national contributions and repurposed existing funds,” added Fraile.
This new bank will enable technology-neutral support across industrial sectors, including via carbon contracts for difference (CCfD). Through a fair distribution of support across Member States, it will bridge the project funding gap in both capital and operational expenditure.
The pilot decarbonisation auction will be funded using a combination of existing resources under the Innovation Fund and auctions-as-a-service.
