EU prepares for next auction
EU eyes tighter rules in future green auctions
Larger bond payments and shorter startup windows likely as EU looks to build on success of inaugural European Hydrogen Bank auction
Projects bidding for subsidies via future rounds of the EU’s European Hydrogen Bank auction are expected to face stricter requirements, including tighter startup deadlines and the need to pay larger deposits, according to EU officials. The second auction, scheduled to take place by the end of this year, is expected to require bidding green hydrogen projects to start up within three years of subsidy awards, compared to five years under the recently completed first auction. Under the auction rules, projects failing to meet the startup deadline lose their deposit, or completion bond, which was set at 4% of the subsidy value for the first auction. Future auction rounds could see the bond raised
Also in this section
2 December 2025
Oil major cites deteriorating demand and a planning debacle as it abandons one of UK’s largest blue hydrogen projects
1 December 2025
Project at Emden in northwest Germany due online in 2027, but wider ramp-up of clean hydrogen sector in Germany will require overhaul of government policy, company warns
25 November 2025
The northwest African country’s vision of integrating green power, molecules and steel is alive and kicking, and serves as a reminder of hydrogen’s transformative potential
19 November 2025
The creation of ‘lead markets’ to generate hydrogen demand in the EU has potential, but implementation would pose complex challenges for producers and industrial offtakers
