The EU seeks to speed up investment in the hydrogen market to achieve climate neutrality and independence from Russian energy sources.

The European Commission announced the beginning of work on a pilot mechanism for developing the hydrogen market. Hydrogen will play an essential role in the EU’s transition to climate neutrality by 2050 and in achieving its goal of becoming independent of Russian fossil fuels by 2030.

The EC aims to help expand the market by collecting and processing data on the supply and demand for renewable low-carbon hydrogen and connecting European buyers with local and international suppliers. The pilot mechanism will start operating in the middle of 2025 and will operate for five years.

There are currently 254 renewable hydrogen production projects in the EU, of which 170 are in operation and 84 are under construction. Together, they make up almost three GW of capacity. A further eight GW will be commissioned by 2030 after projects selected to receive €720M in the European Hydrogen Bank’s pilot auction in 2023 are launched.