Market consultation launched for joint German-Canadian auction under H2Global

Germany maintains an energy partnership with Canada, which was expanded in 2022 to include a hydrogen alliance. As part of efforts to establish a hydrogen bridge between Germany and Canada, both countries have agreed to launch a joint auction under the H2Global initiative. This hydrogen bridge aims to support the global scale-up of the hydrogen market through offtake agreements and price signals. To this end, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) will provide up to €200 million over the coming years from the Climate and Transformation Fund (CTF) to support the H2Global hydrogen funding programme. The Canadian government, represented by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the federal department responsible for natural resources, will contribute an equal amount.

To date, the international scale-up of hydrogen has been hindered by the gap between the cost of producing renewable hydrogen and the price buyers are willing to pay. Under the joint German-Canadian auction, this cost differential will be jointly and equally covered by both governments. The objective is to significantly accelerate the transatlantic hydrogen ramp-up. This commitment was formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding between the two ministries in 2024, which also introduced a dedicated bilateral auction structure.

In order to support the design of this bilateral auction and ensure compliance with EU state aid regulations, the BMWE is conducting a public market consultation. This consultation takes the form of a questionnaire, which outlines the planned initiative and includes targeted questions for companies. All relevant businesses are invited to take part. The questionnaire is available in English at the following link until 10 September 2025.

H2Global is an innovative instrument designed to promote the rapid and effective scale-up of green hydrogen technologies and their associated markets, including derivatives. The initiative is implemented and further developed by the non-profit H2Global Foundation. Its subsidiary, HINT.CO GmbH, manages the allocated funds to compensate for potential differences between competitively determined supply-side and demand-side prices.
In addition to the planned German-Canadian auction, Germany is also conducting a joint auction with the Netherlands, as well as its own national auctions to support the production of renewable hydrogen.