The development of a robust hydrogen offtake market is critical for Europe’s decarbonization objectives, particularly in industries that are difficult to abate. While hydrogen production capacity continues to expand, the absence of long-term offtake agreements remains a significant barrier to financing and commercial deployment. Industrial buyers remain reluctant to commit to long-term contracts due to high costs, policy uncertainties, and concerns about future price volatility. This reluctance has resulted in a financing bottleneck, slowing the scale-up of hydrogen projects and limiting the speed of market development.
This report examines the challenges associated with securing bankable hydrogen offtake agreements across the European market. It evaluates existing financial support mechanisms, assesses global best practices, and explores alternative contractual solutions that could encourage industrial buyers to enter into longterm purchase commitments. The ultimate goal is to provide practical recommendations that will support investment certainty and de-risk hydrogen projects, thereby accelerating the deployment of clean hydrogen infrastructure.
The report was developed under the Green Hydrogen Business Alliance Collaboration Lab (CoLab) initiative in cooperation with GET.invest, a leading European programme that mobilises investment in clean energy, co-funded by the European Union, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria.