The European Commission is supporting electrolyser and hydrogen development in Austria and Lithuania through state aid funding worth €400m and €36m respectively.
The approved schemes, under the European Hydrogen Bank’s auction, will support electrolyser companies to produce up to 112,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen in Austria and 13,000 tonnes in Lithuania.
The schemes will contribute to the objectives of the recent Clean Industrial Deal to accelerate the decarbonisation of EU industry while strengthening competitiveness, of the REPowerEU Plan to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and be greener, as well as the EU Hydrogen Strategy.
The moves will help both countries achieve their national hydrogen objectives, as well as supporting targets for the share of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) consumed in transport and in industry that are set in the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.
Aid will take the form of a direct grant per kilo of renewable hydrogen produced and granted for a maximum 10 years.
Beneficiaries will have to prove compliance with EU criteria for the production of RFNBOs.
This includes contributing to the deployment or financing of the additional renewable electricity which is needed to produce the hydrogen supported under the scheme.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said the schemes mark an important step in boosting renewable hydrogen development, and reducing the cost of this strategic clean fuel.
“They will support the most competitive projects in Austria and Lithuania, reducing the burden on taxpayers and minimising possible market distortions,” she said.
The second European Hydrogen Bank auction attracted 61 bids from projects spanning 11 European countries, with total grant requests reaching €4.8bn ($5.2bn) – four times the €1.2bn ($1.3bn) budget available from the Innovation Fund.
