The second H2Global auction has today (February 19) launched with €2.5bn ($2.6bn) allocated to subsidise green hydrogen imports into Europe.
Hintco, the German Government-funded investment vehicle behind the scheme, said the supply-side auction is organised into five lots – four regional and one global.
The regional auctions each have a minimum budget of €484m ($505m), focusing on purchasing hydrogen from North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Africa.
These auctions will be “product-open lot,” allowing flexibility in the form of hydrogen supplied, be it pure hydrogen, ammonia or methanol.
The global auction will offer a minimum of €567m ($591m) to import hydrogen as the final product from anywhere in the world.
Hintco has said suppliers are free to choose preferred transport methods for both lots, provided they end up as the specified final product before delivery. All of the auctions will have to meet the EU’s renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) criteria.
The total amount set to be spent under the initial plans is €2.5bn, despite a budget of €3bn ($3.1bn), jointly funded by Germany and the Netherlands, approved by the European Commission.
Read more:Commission approves €3bn German-Dutch H2Global hydrogen import scheme
The investment vehicle has said the auction could increase “to close to” the €3bn mark, pending final budget approvals.
“Hintco is once again setting new milestones by pooling funds from different governments into a single auction, targeting both global and – for the first time – European renewable hydrogen production,” said Tim Bollerhey, Hinto CEO and co-founder of H2Global.
H2Global aims to support hydrogen projects by purchasing green hydrogen through long-term contracts from Hintco before reselling to the wider market.
The first pilot auction, concluded last year, awarded €397m ($414m) to Fertiglobe for at least 397,000 of green ammonia at €1,000 ($1,043) per tonne from 2027 to 2033.
The organisation says the mechanism allows for price discovery and transparency while scaling trade flows to build market liquidity.
Media Guide
Don’t just stay at the forefront of the latest news and views in the hydrogen economy, position yourself at the forefront with H2 View. Reach the right target audience for your company through our range of promotional platforms.
Whether online, in print, or as part of our newsletters, H2 View has a range of advertising options to meet your objectives. Download H2 View’s 2025 media guide today!
