The Hydrogen Council, a global initiative of CEOs representing energy, transport, and industry organisations advocating for the accelerated deployment of hydrogen solutions, and the European Investment Bank (EIB), one of the world’s largest providers of climate finance, today signed a landmark agreement. Under this partnership, delivered through the InnovFin Advisory program, EIB will provide strategic financial advice and support to companies preparing to deploy large-scale hydrogen projects, making such solutions more readily available to consumers around the world.

The hydrogen economy will require annual investments of $20-25 billion until 2030. Though a significant investment, the amount is a fraction of what the world invests in oil and gas and renewable electricity per year. The EIB and the Hydrogen Council’s cooperation will help to accelerate and facilitate access to funding for a number of hydrogen projects which will benefit from the EIB’s InnovFin Advisory support.

The agreement will also contribute to identify and source hydrogen investment projects which could be financed by the EIB, and in so doing address energy transition and carbon reduction challenges.

The Hydrogen Council and EIB, through InnovFin Advisory – a programme supported by the European Commission to advise companies to structure their R&I projects in order to improve their access to finance – will work together on identifying relevant hydrogen projects. EIB will provide to the Council and its members extensive knowledge sharing and support to navigate the financing schemes that exist within and beyond the EIB, in order to bring hydrogen projects to life. Indeed, the Bank offers numerous options for companies looking for funding such as corporate loans, project finance, or venture debt.

In addition, this collaboration will help to identify potential funding gaps related to hydrogen projects, and to explore the need for potential new financial instruments to address such gaps.