The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is Participating in the European Hydrogen Bank

The European Commission has launched the third round of tenders for the Innovation Fund to promote renewable and low-carbon hydrogen. The European Hydrogen Bank will cover the difference between production costs and the market price; the level of funding will be determined through a competitive bidding process. Contracts will be awarded to the bidders offering the lowest funding amount per kilogram of hydrogen.

Germany is participating in the IF25 auction via the EU's "Tenders as a Service" mechanism, contributing €1.3 billion. The aim is to efficiently supply customers in Germany's core hydrogen network with renewable hydrogen and to create investment incentives for cross-border pipeline infrastructure. The hydrogen produced under Germany's funding window must be fed into the "Danish Hydrogen Backbone 1" pipeline and subsequently delivered to German core network customers.

This mechanism allows member states to fund additional projects that are eligible for funding under the Innovation Fund but are no longer within their budget – without having to conduct their own national tenders. The prerequisite is that project developers specify the use of this instrument in their bid.