Letter on hydrogen: Europe’s green power predicament

Recent auctions have exposed Europe’s north-south renewables divide, but wind and solar in the Middle East and North Africa will ultimately win out

The results of the EU’s first European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) subsidy auction were both surprising and unsurprising. The level of clearing prices was unexpectedly low. The winning bids ranged from €0.37–0.48/kg ($0.40–0.52/kg) of hydrogen produced, far below the auction’s upper limit of €4.50/kg. This may imply some strategic bidding by projects willing to take a financial hit in return for first-mover advantage, one EU official suggested. However, the geographical spread of the winning bids—five in Spain and Portugal, and two in Scandinavia—appeared to confirm what we already knew: Europe-based competitive green hydrogen production, in a post-subsidy market, is going to be based for the most p