EC approves EUR 6.9bn for hydrogen infrastructure IPCEIs

The European Commission (EC) on Thursday approved up to EUR 6.9 billion (USD 7.39bn) in state aid to support the development of the hydrogen value chain as part of the third package under the IPCEI scheme.

IPCEI Hy2Infra, as the package is called, involves 33 projects from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia, which will get public funding.

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"While the renewable hydrogen supply chain in Europe is still in a nascent phase, Hy2Infra will deploy the initial building blocks of an integrated and open renewable hydrogen network. This IPCEI will establish the first regional infrastructure clusters in several Member States and prepare the ground for future interconnections across Europe, in line with the European Hydrogen Strategy", commented Vice-President Margrethe Vestager.

This IPCEI initiative focuses on infrastructure development with two main pillars -- the first one targets the deployment of 3.2 GW of large-scale electrolysers, establishing new and repurposed hydrogen transmission and distribution pipelines spanning about 2,700 km, as well as developing large-scale hydrogen storage facilities with a capacity of at least 370 GWh.

With the second pillar, the initiative will back the construction of handling terminals and associated port infrastructure tailored for liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC), with the capacity to handle 6,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually.

Several projects under Hy2Infra will be implemented in the coming years. Large-scale electrolysers are expected to begin producing hydrogen between 2026 and 2028, while pipelines should be available between 2027 and 2029, depending on the region. Overall completion is slated for 2029, varying by project and company.

The public funding of up to EUR 6.9 billion is expected to unlock EUR 5.4 billion in private investments.

Hy2Infra follows two previous IPCEIs focusing on hydrogen: Hy2Tech, approved in July 2022, covers hydrogen technology for end users, while Hy2Use, approved in September 2022, focuses on hydrogen applications in industry.

Image source: EC