This article is part of the European Union, Inc special report.
Two back-to-back crises have pushed Europe to bet increasing amounts of cash on a hydrogen revolution to meet industrial ambitions and reduce carbon emissions. But its promise to keep its economy growing while meeting 2050 climate targets looks increasingly tenuous.
For the hydrogen industry, it’s a subsidy boom. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is promising a €3 billion investment vehicle, dubbed a hydrogen bank, to “help guarantee the purchase of hydrogen” by spurring demand using cash from the EU Innovation Fund.
That comes on top of more than €13 billion in state aid approvals for national and cross-border projects so far: €5.4 billion for Hy2Tech, a cross-border initiative to perfect the technology; €5.2 billion for Hy2Use, aimed at applications in…