City authority launches tender for hydrogen economy consulting
Tender seeks consultants to help companies analyse energy use, design decarbonisation pathways and integrate hydrogen technologies as part of wider climate goals.
Tender seeks consultants to help companies analyse energy use, design decarbonisation pathways and integrate hydrogen technologies as part of wider climate goals.
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Stadt Aachen - Zentrale Vergabestelle FB60/300 has launched a tender for hydrogen economy consulting services to help companies in the Aachen region analyse their energy use, design decarbonisation paths and integrate hydrogen technologies, laying the groundwork for a coordinated hydrogen economy across the Euregio Maas-Rhein.
On 13th February 2026, Stadt Aachen - Zentrale Vergabestelle FB60/300 published a contract notice seeking qualified consulting services to support local businesses. The consultants will work with companies in the Aachen region to analyse their energy and process structures, develop viable decarbonisation paths and identify where hydrogen technologies can play a role.
The focus on individual companies is notable. Rather than commissioning a single, top-down masterplan, the city is asking advisers to start from the realities of existing energy and process chains in firms across the region. That bottom-up picture is then expected to feed into the establishment of a coordinated hydrogen economy for the wider Euregio Maas-Rhein.
By combining detailed process analysis with decarbonisation roadmaps and hydrogen integration, the commission aims to align corporate investment decisions with regional climate and energy objectives. The notice does not disclose contract value, duration or the number of suppliers, but the brief suggests a multi-disciplinary assignment spanning engineering, energy systems and strategy.
The description of services in the notice is concise but clear about the core tasks.
This places the work at the interface between traditional energy auditing, industrial process optimisation and emerging hydrogen value chains. Advisers will need to translate technical possibilities into realistic steps that companies can take, including where hydrogen can displace existing fossil-based processes or enable new low-carbon products.
The regional framing is also important. A company-by-company approach will generate a granular map of demand, supply and potential synergies for hydrogen across sectors. That evidence base can help the city and its partners decide where to prioritise infrastructure, storage, logistics and support in later phases.
The Aachen tender sits within a wider wave of public-sector procurements for hydrogen and decarbonisation consultancy, spanning energy networks, ministries, municipal utilities and international development agencies.
In December 2025, Northern Gas Networks Limited launched the Hydrogen Services Framework to support the East Coast Hydrogen project in North East England. That framework combines project management, strategic advisory, regulatory compliance, financial modelling, construction advisory and design validation services for a planned hydrogen transmission network.
In October 2025, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy issued the contract notice Analysis of Renewable Hydrogen Auctions. The study will assess hydrogen market developments, examine existing auction schemes for renewable hydrogen imports and provide guidance to Member States on suitable auction models.
Also in October 2025, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH sought services under Enhancing Governance for Green Hydrogen in Mauritania. That project aims to strengthen institutional and regulatory frameworks for sustainable green hydrogen, build governance capacities, support the local private sector and ensure environmental and social safeguards.
At state level, Land Hessen is using external expertise to drive its energy transition. In December 2025 it advertised Energy Transition Services in Hesse, seeking support for municipal climate protection and adaptation projects and for promoting the use of renewable raw materials.
Further south, in November 2025, Elliniki Etaireia Symmetochon kai Periousias A.E. went to market with Consultants for Decarbonization Projects. The brief covers legal, economic and technical services to help mature and implement projects financed through Decarbonization and Modernization Funds, with a focus on renewable energy, energy autonomy and infrastructure modernisation.
Hydrogen-specific consulting and planning is also gathering pace around transport and pipelines. In October 2025, badenovaNETZE GmbH launched Hydrogen Pipeline Planning Services for a line along the Upper Rhine, stressing route efficiency, minimal passage over private property and links to national and European hydrogen infrastructure. In January 2026, the Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg published Hydrogen Use in Freight Transport, commissioning a comprehensive concept for needs assessment, logistics and fuelling station locations.
Closer to the municipal level, utilities are commissioning studies to reconfigure existing assets. Lippeverband’s Energy Hub Study from February 2026 will test whether two wastewater treatment plants can serve as integrated energy hubs, optimising infrastructure, examining storage and distribution options and developing resilient operating strategies and contract models. And a few days later, on 23rd February 2026, Westfälische Hochschule announced plans for an H2 research facility through its H2 Solution Lab Project prior information notice, seeking a private partner to construct and operate a research facility for hydrogen applications.
Taken together, these procurements show that hydrogen and wider decarbonisation consulting is no longer confined to high-level strategy documents. Contracting authorities are buying in support across the whole chain: mapping resources, designing market instruments, planning pipelines and depots, and guiding municipal and corporate projects.
Against that backdrop, the Aachen assignment stands out for its explicit focus on helping individual companies in one region adapt their own energy and process structures. While many hydrogen tenders target network operators or large infrastructure, this commission is about enabling businesses to understand their options and plot credible decarbonisation paths.
Because the notice links energy and process analysis, decarbonisation pathways and hydrogen integration, successful advisers will need to combine technical, economic and organisational perspectives. They will be expected to understand existing process flows, identify where emissions reductions are feasible, and assess when hydrogen technologies are a sensible part of the solution.
The coordinated hydrogen economy objective adds a further layer. Consultants will not only work with single firms but also contribute to a regional picture for the Euregio Maas-Rhein, indicating potential clusters of hydrogen demand and synergies between sectors.
For local businesses, the tender signals that structured support is being put in place to make sense of decarbonisation and hydrogen options. Rather than approaching technologies in isolation, companies will have access to advice that starts with their actual energy use and process requirements and works forward to practical transition pathways.
The Aachen contract notice is focused on consulting rather than construction or equipment. Yet similar notices already point to the kinds of projects that may follow once regional decarbonisation paths and hydrogen roles are clearer.
In September 2025, EDF Renouvelables launched the tender 30MW PEM Electrolyzer Supply as part of its Hyode project, seeking an electrolyser optimised for offshore operation. In February 2026, Emschergenossenschaft issued EMSR Technology for a facility combining hydrogen production, CO₂ capture from biogas and methanol production under the E-BO(2)t project. And in November 2025, the state of Baden-Württemberg, via Technische Hochschule Ulm, went to market for a 50 MW hydrogen storage system in its Hydrogen Infrastructure Expansion project.
These more capital-intensive procurements underscore why early-stage consulting such as Aachen’s matters. Clear decarbonisation paths and robust assessments of hydrogen’s role at company level can inform decisions on where electrolysers, storage sites, pipelines or multi-energy hubs might actually be viable.
For now, the key milestones to watch will be the selection of advisers and the way their work is structured with companies across the Aachen region and the Euregio Maas-Rhein. As similar tenders across Europe move from studies to implementation, the outcomes of this consulting commission will offer an early indication of how one industrial region intends to turn hydrogen ambitions into coordinated action.
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