Insights
Auctions for green hydrogen and its derivatives - Part 1
5 December 2025
In less than two decades renewable energy auctions (REAs) have become a global standard – from just six countries in 2005 to over 140 countries nowadays. For those interested, this article and this article provide a good overview of the definition, working mechanisms and benefits of REAs.
This article has 2 parts – Part 1 will provide an up-to-date landscape of the ongoing auctions of green hydrogen (and its derivatives), while Part 2 summarises our key observations on competitiveness, effectiveness and challenges ahead.
In recent years, many governments have implemented auctions as a competitive procurement mechanism for green hydrogen and its derivatives with attractive support instruments to stimulate supply and demand and to bridge the gap of the “green premium”.
Figure: subsidy to bridge the price gap
Before delving into specific ongoing auctions, there are a few concepts worth highlighting.
Auction models
There are four main types of auctions used for green hydrogen development support:
Supply-side action: allocates support to hydrogen production
Demand-side auction: allocates support to hydrogen consumption
Double-side auction: allocates support to both production and consumption
Joint supply- and demand-side action: a subset and simplification of the double-sided auction, which requires the bid to include both hydrogen supply and off-take
Figure: four types of auction models
Support instruments
Different financial mechanisms have been implemented over time to support renewable energy development, many of which are applicable to green H2 auctions.
Feed-in-tariff (FiT): pays a fixed set price per unit for eligible product delivered ($/ kWh), typically via a long-term regulated contract
Feed-in-premium (FiP): pays an additional amount on top of the market price, with the producer receiving the market price plus the additional amount, i.e., premium
Contract for difference (CfD): a two-sided financial contract that tops-up or pays-back (financial swap) the difference between the market price and the strike price agreed in advance with the CfD counterparty
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): a long-term supply agreement from a specific asset at a fixed price between a renewable developer and a consumer
Table: typical support instruments
TheEuropean Hydrogen Bank (EHB)'s Auction-as-a-Service (AaaS) scheme
Auction model: supply side auction
Support instrument: feed-in-premium
Announced in 2022 as part of the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU plan, the scheme was designed to support the large-scale deployment of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) hydrogen and help the EU reach its target of producing 10 million tonnes per year of RFNBO hydrogen domestically by 2030, alongside importing another 10 million tonnes per year.
The auction process is managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), drawing the primary funding from the EU Innovation Fund, which is financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
To date, two actions rounds have been completed.
First Auction – pilot action (IF23)
Launched in November 2023 and closed in February 2024, with a ceiling price of €4.50/kg. The ceiling price is the feed-in-premium, which is to cover the gap between the project's full Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), including all CAPEX, OPEX, financing, and efficiency losses - and expected merchant revenues from selling hydrogen, electricity and byproducts.
The pilot auction awarded nearly €720 million to 7 projects across Europe (later dropped to 6), featuring a total electrolyser capacity of 1.5 GW, producing 1.58 million tonnes of green hydrogen over 10 years.
Second Auction (IF24)
The second round closed in February 2025 with a total budget of €1.2 billion. It selected 15 projects across 5 countries, awarding a total of €992 million to support nearly 2.2 million tonnes of green hydrogen production over 10 years.
Table: results of EHB IF23 and IF24
Note: The bid price submitted to the auction represents the maximum price per kilogram (€/kg) that a bidder (typically a project developer) is willing to accept as a strike price for receiving a long-term subsidy or contract-for-difference payment to produce green hydrogen.
Third Auction (IF25)
On 4th Dec 2025, the EU Commission opened three new funding opportunities under the Innovation Fund with a budget totalling €5.2 billion, including the third auction for hydrogen production of €1.3 billion.
Spain: national green H2 auction
Auction model: supply side auction
Support instrument: feed-in-premium
In November 2024, the EU authorised Spain to dedicate up to €400m in national grants via the AaaS model to fund additional Spanish national-level projects preselected in the EHB's second auction but excluded due to budget limits (this complements EU funding rather than constituting separate auction rounds) [1].
Three projects were chosen in May 2025.
Table: results of Spain national green H2 auction
Portugal: Portuguese Environmental Fund
Auction model: supply side auction
Support instrument: contract for difference
In January 2025, Portugal held its first electronic auction for the centralised purchase of biomethane and green hydrogen, organised by the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), supported by a €140 million state aid package [2].
This auction aimed to acquire renewable gases for injection into the public gas grid, contributing to the diversification of energy sources and the promotion of sustainable alternatives [3].
Eight companies won contracts [4]:
Green hydrogen: 7 companies (names undisclosed) totalling 119,280 MWh/year of hydrogen at €127/MWh
Biomethane: Dourogás to supply 1,990 MWh/year of biomethane at €62/MWh
Germany: the H2Global Programme
Auction model: double-sided auction
Support instrument: a special form of Contract for difference: long-term purchase contracts are awarded to low-bid producers outside the EU, while short-term sales agreements go to high-bid offtakers in the EU. Hintco, the intermediary, covers the "cost of difference", mimicking CfD risk-sharing without being a pure fixed-strike CfD.
Pilot round
In December 2021, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz; BMWK) approved the “H2Global” funding of €900 million in its pilot auction to purchase derivatives of green H2 produced on the global market and sell them in the EU to the highest bidders. It has three lots:
Lot 1- Renewable ammonia: 1 winner selected by a 2-stage process from 22 competitive bids, with 65 countries internationally expressed interest
Lot 2 - Renewable methanol: remain ongoing
Lot 3 – e-SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel): ended without a contract award
For renewable ammonia, the winner Fertiglobal was awarded an annual minimum offtake of ~40,000 tonnes at €811/tonne (ex-factory) net product price and €1,000/tonne total price (including transport & logistics), which was 37% lower than the set maximum price.
Figure: the maximum net product price was set at €1,280/tonne. The net product prices of the bids, including initial and final bids submitted, averaged at €1,048/tonne
Second round
The new larger round is joint-funded with the Netherlands, with a value of up to €2.5 billion – this is the first time two EU countries are pooling funds under H2Global platform. The details of the 2nd round is provided here.
In addition, Australia and Germany have agreed to establish a bilateral H2Global tender, contributing €200 million each to a joint auction [5]. Canada also recently launched a bilateral H2Global scheme, with a series of first-mover ammonia project front-runners to receive funding for hydrogen transport across the Atlantic [6].
Denmark
Auction model: supply-side auction
Support instrument: Feed-in-premium
Denmark was the first country to introduce the auction-based support scheme for green hydrogen. Launched in early 2023 with a total budget of DKK 1.25 billion (approximately €167.7 million) for 10 years, the support scheme aims to achieve Denmark’s power-to-X strategy to build upwards of 4-6 GW electrolyser capacity.
Table: results of Denmark 2023 auction
Oman
Auction model: supply-side auction
Support instrument: other
Oman has conducted multiple auctions for green H2 projects. Through Hydrom (Hydrogen Oman), the country is targeting production of 1 million tpa by 2030 via allocated land blocks in regions like Dhofar and Duqm. Auctions emphasise integrated value chains with solar/wind renewables for electrolysis, flexible footprints, phased development, and options for surplus power sales to the grid.
Different from the above, the incentives provided to the participants include land lease fees, reductions in base royalties during the initial years of production, and Corporate Tax exemptions, etc. [7]
Round 1
In June 2023, Hydrom's first auction awarded 5 projects in Duqm, including:
Amnah consortium (Block Z1-01): Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), Blue Power Partners (BPP), and Al Khadra (Hind Bahwan Group), targeting 200,000 tpa H2 from 4.5 GW renewables
HyDuqm consortium (Block Z1-02): POSCO-ENGIE, POSCO Holdings, MESCAT Middle East DMCC, Samsung Engineering, etc. to produce 200,000 tpa of green hydrogen/ 500,000 tpa green ammonia from 5.2 GW of combined wind / solar
BP Oman (Block Z1-03): Plans 150,000 tpa H2 from 3.5 GW renewables.
GEO consortium (Block Z1-04): Shell (operator), InterContinental Energy, OQ, and EnerTech; targeting 150,000 tpa H2 from 4 GW combined wind/solar
Hyport Coordination Company consortium: OQ AE, DEME Concessions NV, and BP Oman, targeting 50,000 tpa of green hydrogen by 2029 as its first phase
Unfortunately, 2 out of 5 projects (BP, POSCO-Engie) have already been cancelled since the initial award.
Round 2
Three additional projects in Dhofar were awarded in April 2024.
Salalah H2 consortium: OQ AE, Marubeni, Dutco, and Samsung C&T, to produce over 1 million tpa of green ammonia, with an expected production of over 175,000 tpa of green hydrogen
EDF/J-Power/Yamna consortium: EDF Group, EDF Renewables, J-Power, and Yamna, targets ~178,000 tpa H2
Actis-Fortescue consortium: targeting 200,000 tpa of green hydrogen from 4.5GW combined wind/ solar
Round 3
The third round, launched April 30, 2025, offers a 300 km² block in Duqm, and is currently under the qualification process, with bids due early 2026 and awards finalised by H1 2026.
Japan
Auction model: double-sided auction
Support instrument: contract for difference
Announced in May 2024 and came into effect in Oct 2024, The Hydrogen Society Promotion Act, a CfD scheme, subsidising price gaps for low-carbon hydrogen supply chains over 15 years.
Through Tokyo Metropolitan Government and modelled on Germany’s H2Global Foundation, Japan has completed 2 rounds of auctions to date.
Round 1
In the first auction, H2 deliveries were proposed using tube trailers and gas cylinders.
Tube trailer: supplier bid ¥280 per normal cubic meter (~$23.32/kg) against buyers bid ¥100 (~$8.33/kg), resulting a ~$15/kg subsidy gap
Gas cylinders: supplier bid ¥355 (~$29.57/kg) against buyers' ¥280 (~$23.32/kg), resulting a ~$6.25/kg gap
Round 2
The second round, as part of Tokyo’s FY2025 “Green Hydrogen Trial Trading Project”, was launched on 6th October 2025 [8].
On the supply side, the costs of the winning bids were slightly higher than the 1st round [9]:
Gas cylinders: ¥371/Nm³
Tube trailer: ¥285/Nm³
While buyers bid as high as ¥230 per normal cubic metre ($16.76/kg), the average buyer price was much lower than before, suggesting the dual pressure situation – a high cost of production and delivery as well as a sluggish domestic demand of green hydrogen.
Winning projects are:
Toyota Tsusho and partners project: to produce 1,600 tpa of green hydrogen for Aichi Steel's manufacturing.
Resonac project: Support clean ammonia production to decarbonise heavy industry and chemicals.
India - Green Ammonia auctions (mode 2A)
Auction model: joint-supply and demand
Support instrument: feed-in premium
In recent months, green ammonia auctions in India have been under close observation due to the record low prices achieved.
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) manages green ammonia auctions under the National Green Hydrogen Mission's Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT), backed by INR 17,490 crore under the NGHM (National Green Hydrogen Mission) (1 crore = 10 million).
In the process, SECI acts as intermediate, utilising a hybrid auction: sealed bids for screening, followed by an e-reverse auction (an electronic bidding process where suppliers compete by reducing their bids to win contracts transparently and competitively). Contracts span for 10 years for offtake, providing production-linked incentives (PLI) to producers as fixed premiums over three years: INR 8.82/kg in year 1, INR 7.06/kg in year 2, and INR 5.30/kg in year 3.
Figure: forward auction vs. reverse auction
The initial SIGHT Tranche I (green ammonia) tender was issued in June 2024, with the first for 75,000 tpa to Paradeep Phosphates completed by August 2025, followed by multiple rounds concluding by September 2025 covering a total of 724,000 tpa across 13 auctions. Projects must be online within 36 months of the Green Ammonia Purchase Agreement (GAPA) effective date.
Figure: results of Indian SECI green ammonia auction
WSS Energy Data
All projects listed above are individually recorded and tracked in WSS Energy's proprietary global database - the most extensive of its kind - tracking more than 800 ongoing green energy / fuel projects and over 500 technologies worldwide. The platform also captures emerging technology innovations across key areas. Current areas covered include:
Ammonia: e-ammonia, low-carbon ammonia
Methanol: e-methanol, bio-methanol, low-carbon methanol
Methane: e-methane, bio-methane
SAF: e-SAF, bio-SAF
Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE)
We’re continuing to grow the database to include additional areas such as energy storage, CCUS and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).
For the first time, this database delivers a 360° view of the green energy and fuels ecosystem, mapping every link in the value chain, from project developers, offtakers and investors to technology providers and feedstock sources (H₂ and CO₂).
Designed both for industry leaders shaping the energy transition and for players seeking to understand market opportunities, the database enables faster decisions, unique insights and a holistic view of the green energy and fuel landscape.
Discover how our database can help you, please get in touch: contactus@wssenergy.com.
References:
[1] https://strategicenergy.eu/eu-hydrogen-auction-spain/
[5] https://ammoniaenergy.org/articles/australia-germany-launch-joint-h2global-auction/
[6] https://ammoniaenergy.org/articles/canada-launches-h2global-auction/