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On 12 November 2025, the European Commission officially launched its Hydrogen Mechanism, a landmark initiative designed to accelerate the development of a European hydrogen market by connecting suppliers of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen with industrial buyers, creating a transparent and structured marketplace for hydrogen.
What is the Hydrogen Mechanism?
The Hydrogen Mechanism is operated by the European Hydrogen Bank and has been launched the recently adopted Regulation on the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen (EU/2024/1789). Its primary goal is to match supply and demand for hydrogen and its derivatives across the EU.
The Hydrogen Mechanism introduces an online platform to improve market transparency by matching hydrogen suppliers with industrial buyers. It supports infrastructure planning by providing data to guide investment in transport and storage networks. The underlying concept is for market participants to gain access to financing opportunities, thereby helping to accelerate project development and scale-up of hydrogen across the EU. The mechanism also ensures regulatory certainty by aligning with the EU's hydrogen and decarbonised gas market framework. Together, these features aim to create a structured, reliable environment for Europe's emerging hydrogen economy.
Why does this matter?
Hydrogen is central to the EU's goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. It offers a solution for hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as steel, chemicals, aviation, and maritime transport. The EU's REPowerEU strategy targets 10 million tonnes of domestic hydrogen production and 10 million tonnes of imports by 2030, underlining the importance of this mechanism for achieving those ambitions.
By addressing key barriers to market development, including uncertainty around demand and supply, and limited access to financing, the mechanism aims to reduce friction in the early stages of Europe's hydrogen market and create conditions for growth.
What are the criteria for submitting calls for interest?
For suppliers, the criteria for submitting supply offers include:
- Product offered must be renewable (RFNBO) or low-carbon hydrogen or its derivatives, including ammonia, methanol, electro-synthetic aviation fuels (eSAF), and e-methane.
- All submissions must comply with EU definitions under RED III and the delegated acts governing Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBOs).
- Mandatory registration on the EU Energy & Raw Materials Platform (although participation is free and does not create any obligation to transact).
- The platform excludes suppliers from Russia and Belarus for one year under EU regulation.
For buyers/offtakers, criteria for submitting expressions of interest include:
- To be eligible, buyers/offtakers must be industrial users within the EU seeking hydrogen to decarbonise operations.
- Expressions of interest are non-binding, (but primarily signal demand for future contracting).
Timeline at a glance and next steps
As set out by the European Commission, the timeline is expected to run as follows:
- 12 November 2025 – 2 January 2026: Suppliers can submit hydrogen supply offers.
- 19 January 2026: Publication of anonymised supply offer summaries.
- 19 January – 20 March 2026: Buyers (offtakers) submit expressions of interest.
- 31 March 2026: Results are shared with participants.
The mechanism will run until 2029, providing a structured environment for early-stage offtake agreements.
Useful Links
- Mechanism to support the market development of hydrogen
- Hydrogen Mechanism: Commission launches its first call for interest to connect buyers and suppliers
- EU Energy and Raw Materials Platform - Hydrogen Mechanism
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