The EU has put more than €20bn towards green hydrogen, but it is way behind its targets

A new report from the EU’s energy regulator ACER shows that although the EU has committed over €20 billion in subsidies to support green hydrogen, progress is far behind expectations. Despite a 51% rise in Electrolites installations from 2023 to 2024, the EU has only built 308 MW of capacity, with 1.8 GW under construction—far short of its 6 GW target for 2024 and far from the 40 GW goal for 2030. Only 20% of green hydrogen projects funded through the EU’s Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) have reached final investment decisions, and 31% have not even signed binding grant agreements. The EU’s PCI/PMI schemes for cross-border hydrogen pipelines and storage are also lagging, with most projects years away from implementation. Overall, ACER concludes that renewable hydrogen remains too expensive and lacks strong demand signals, slowing industrial adoption and delaying large-scale infrastructure development.