Germany subsidizes €4.6 billion to 23 green H2 projects – SPE

The German government said it has made financing decisions for 23 hydrogen projects, following EU approval. These projects are part of the third Hy2Infra wave of the IPCEI Hydrogen program (Important Projects of Common European Interest), which the European Commission approved in February 2024. The funded projects cover the entire hydrogen value chain, including up to 1.4 GW of hydrogen production. capacity powered by renewable energy and transport of up to 1,800 tons of hydrogen per year, using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC). The country also wants to support storage solutions for up to 370 GWh and 2,000 km of hydrogen infrastructure. “The emphasis here is mainly on the interaction between individual projects,” said the German government. “For example, several projects form clusters of pipeline, storage and generation infrastructure in federal states with connections to industrial customers in energy-intensive sectors such as the steel and chemical industries.”

RWE said it will secure up to €619 million for two large-scale hydrogen projects in Germany. “The funds will be provided for the construction of a 300 MW electrolyzer to generate green hydrogen in Lingen (Lower Saxony) as part of the GET H2 Nukleus project, as well as for a hydrogen plant in Gronau-Epe (North Rhine-Westphalia ),” said RWE. The German energy company is also a member of a consortium developing a 100 MW electrolysis plant in the port of Rostock (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) as part of the HyTechHafen Rostock project.

Hamburger Energiewerke and its project partner, Luxcara, will secure funding for the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH) project. “Together they are building a 100 MW electrolyzer for green hydrogen on the site of the former Moorburg coal-fired power station,” the German government said in an emailed press release. The municipal grid operator Gasnetz Hamburg receives financing for the construction of the first 40 km of the hydrogen distribution network HH-WIN. The federal government and the city of Hamburg offer more than €250 million for the projects.

BP will secure funds from the German federal government and the state government of Lower Saxony to develop a 100 MW green hydrogen project next to the Lingen refinery. “The project aims to install a 100 MW electrolyzer that can produce an average of 10-11kt green hydrogen per year.,” said the oil and gas company. “The renewable energy required for the electrolyser is expected to be initially supplied through an offshore wind energy purchase agreement.” Separately also BP Aberdeen Hydrogen Energy said that it has agreed a final investment decision for its Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub project in Scotland and plans to start construction by the end of 2024.