EU Budget 2028-2034: Big wins for energy research, but hydrogen lacks focus
The European Commission has proposed a new budget for 2028-2034 which promises more research, investment and development into renewable energy. However, there are doubts as to whether this budget is a true commitment to environmentalism, or is quietly noncommittal.
The new budget was proposed on the 16th July 2025 and aims to create “results that national budgets cannot achieve alone”, across everything from education to the environment.
Hydrogen UK says it’s the “most ambitious investment cycle yet”, but “we need more than eligibility, we need alignment” to make hydrogen central to a sustainable future.
Research
Horizon Europe, the EU’s main funding programme for research, will be receiving double the budget within 2028-2034.
This has the potential to make waves in the hydrogen energy scene, providing much-needed research into storage technologies and infrastructure.
Though hydrogen is not mentioned among Horizon Europe’s ‘moonshot projects’, which will move from research to deployment and have dedicated funding.
Fusion energy and clean aviation are mentioned, which could both include hydrogen energy research as a by-product, but the lack of a dedicated renewable energy project raises concern.
Investment
The budget introduces a new European Competitiveness Fund, which will invest in “strategic technologies” to do with, among other things, decarbonisation and clean transition.
These funds, along with the Innovation Fund and Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, will drive forward progress in the transition to clean energy.
Hydrogen UK calls for companies to use the new fund to support hydrogen contracts and project top-ups.
However, there is no earmarked funding for biodiversity goals in what POLITICO calls a “devastating blow to nature”, and hydrogen energy goes unmentioned in how these funds will be allocated.
Development
The Connecting Europe Facility will be receiving a major boost in funding to 51.5 billion Euros. The Facility works to promote growth and competition in infrastructure development, and has a dedicated Facility for energy.
“The Connecting Europe Facility will boost investments in key cross-border infrastructure projects in the energy and transport sectors, that are crucial to complete the Energy Union and complete trans-European network for transport.”, says the European Commission.
Next steps
The new budget is certain to boost research, investment and development in sustainable practices, but in terms of hydrogen energy, the budget lacks recognition.
For the EU to create what it refers to as an ‘Energy Union’, there needs to be a more detailed report on how energy funds will be broken down, placing a priority on diversifying energy sources.
The new EU budget is sure to bring with it a major increase in energy development, as well as innovative research from Horizon Europe. It will become clear in the next few years where the focus of these funds will be, and how big the benefit will be to hydrogen energy.
