The European Commission has approved a €3bn ($3.12bn) German-Dutch scheme to import green hydrogen from non-EU countries for sale in Germany and the Netherlands.
Germany and the Netherlands will commit €2.7bn ($2.81bn) and €300m ($312m), respectively, to the H2Global double auction scheme that will buy green hydrogen at the lowest costs and sell it in the EU at the highest prices.
Expected to support the construction of nearly 1.9GW of electrolysis capacity globally, the aid will be awarded through a competitive bidding process, which the Commission says could be concluded in 2025.
“The scheme will contribute to meeting Germany’s and the Netherlands’ demand for RFNBOs from 2030 onwards,” the Commission said. “Germany and the Netherlands expect that the scheme will lead up to 5.73 million tonnes of CO2e being avoided.”
The tenders will be open to projects with electrolyser capacity of 5MW or higher and will be organised on a “multi-regional basis.”
Successful projects will have to prove compliance with the EU’s criteria for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOS), which sets rules for additionality, grid and hourly matching of renewables.
Read more:The impact of Europe’s renewable hydrogen complexity
H2Global’s implementation arm, Hintco, will hold the auction.
EU competition Commissioner, Teresa Ribera, said, “The design of the scheme will enable only the most cost-effective projects to be supported, thereby reducing costs for taxpayers and minimising possible distortions of competition.”
The first H2Global contract was awarded to Fertiglobe earlier this year, for at least 397,000 tonnes of green ammonia produced in Egypt.
Read more:Fertiglobe secures €397m pilot H2Global contract for Egyptian green ammonia
Newsletters
H2 View knows just how much hydrogen news there is to keep on top of. Keep up to date on the latest developments across the industry with our daily newsletter that will give you the top five stories of the day, straight to your inbox.
Don’t forget we also have our weekly newsletter which includes a round-up of the past seven days’ hydrogen highlights, including not only news but also interviews, features and analysis.
Sign up for our newsletters here.
