The European Commission is expected to publish the draft terms of the fourth auction of the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) before the end of June. According to Hydrogen Europe, the auction will start this year. The association recommends more flexible commissioning deadlines and stricter financial close criteria, while enabling coordinated use of production and demand support between the EHB and future off-take projects.
Over the past year, the European hydrogen market has become increasingly disconnected from the emissions reduction strategy linked to the Paris Agreement, says Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europearguing that hydrogen growth in Europe is now mainly driven by geopolitical factors. “Europeans are now waking up. We are facing job losses, especially in industry. Fossil molecules as a commodity have now disappeared. We have also gone beyond purely climate-oriented policies. It is now about climate and resilience,” Chatzimarkakis said during a speech at Intersolar in Munich, Germany. “Supply reliability is the core of resilience,” he added, noting that the cost of electricity curtailment in Europe, which amounted to 5.6 billion euros in 2025, is expected to rise to 24 billion euros in 2030. Chatzimarkakis said that if the industry fails to convince policymakers to switch from a “green premium” to a “resilience premium,” “Europe will lose.” He also argued that the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) should serve as the basis for the European resilience framework.
Italian gas distributor Italgas has presented plans to roll out a new generation of ‘H2-ready’ smart meter, which it says offers improved metering and remote control performance, longer lifespan and the ability to measure hydrogen mixtures above 20%. The company said installed Nimbus meters have now exceeded 200,000 units. Italgas also said it will continue, as planned, with its Hyround power-to-gas pilot project in Sardinia. The project uses green hydrogen, mixed with natural gas or in its pure form, to supply local businesses, more than 100 households and public transport networks.
Australia And Germany have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen and structure bilateral cooperation in the field of hydrogen. Under a joint H2Global auction system, each country will contribute up to €200 million. According to the German government, the money will be used to purchase hydrogen products in Australia through an auction and resell them through a separate auction in Germany. In the fall of 2024, the two countries signed an initial MoU in which they committed financing to H2Global. Negotiations since then are nearing completion and a tender design has now been defined. “The memorandum of understanding signed today clarifies the long-term cooperation under H2Global and provides for joint financing for up to ten years,” the German government said.
