EU Approves €1.3B German Renewable Hydrogen Aid

The German scheme

Germany notified the Commission of its intention to introduce a scheme to support the production of renewable hydrogen through the ‘Auctions-as-a-Service’ tool within the European Hydrogen Bank. The approved scheme will support construction of up to 1,000 MW of installed electrolyser capacity, and the production of up to 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen. This is estimated to avoid up to 55 million tonnes of CO2.

The aid will be awarded through a competitive bidding process that will be supervised by the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).

The scheme will provide support to companies planning to construct new electrolysers feeding renewable hydrogen into the Danish Hydrogen Backbone 1 pipeline, which is a Project of Common Interest, and deliver it to buyers connected to the German Hydrogen Core Network. The aid will not only support the production of renewable hydrogen, but also cross-border infrastructure that connects renewable hydrogen sources in the North Sea to large-scale buyers.

Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of a direct grant per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced. The aid will be granted for a maximum duration of ten years. Beneficiaries will have to prove compliance with EU criteria for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs).