EC nods to Germany for EUR-350m green hydrogen support scheme

The European Commission announced today its approval of a EUR-350-million (USD 379m) state aid scheme in Germany aimed at supporting renewable hydrogen production through the European Hydrogen Bank's “Auctions-as-a-Service” tool.

The German scheme calls for the provision of a direct grant per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced. It will be available for up to ten years.

Do you know we have a daily hydrogen newsletter? Subscribe here for free!

The geenlit measure will support the deployment of up to 90 MW of electrolysers in Germany and is expected to incentivise the production of up to 75,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen, thereby helping the country achieve its target of having at least 10 GW of local electrolysis capacity by the end of the decade.

The Commission has determined that the scheme is necessary and appropriate to facilitate the production of renewable hydrogen, has an incentive effect, and comes with sufficient safeguards.

The pilot EU auction for renewable hydrogen production was held earlier this year and drew 132 bids representing a total planned electrolyser capacity of 8.5 GWe. The European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is currently assessing and ranking bids for projects in all Member States.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.083)