The European Commission (EC) has approved 24 German projects as part of the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Hydrogen program.
The projects submitted by Germany are part of the “infrastructure wave” Hy2Infra of the IPCEI Hydrogen, which includes a total of 33 projects from several European Union (EU) Member States that have received joint approval under State aid law.
Germany will now issue the relevant funding approval notices, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said, pointing out that the EC approval is an important milestone for the ministry in its efforts to ramp up Germany’s hydrogen economy and develop the hydrogen value chain in Europe as a whole.
German Federal Government and the respective federal states have earmarked around €4.6 billion in funding for Germany’s IPCEI Hydrogen infrastructure projects, the ministry noted, adding that German companies will invest around €3.4 billion of private funds in the 24 projects within the Hy2Infra wave.
Funding support is being provided for projects along the entire hydrogen value chain, from the production of green hydrogen to transport and storage infrastructure and the use of hydrogen in industry.
German Federal Minister Robert Habeck stated: “The projects in the Hy2Infra wave are important building blocks for ramping up the hydrogen economy in Germany and Europe. I am delighted that the European Commission has now granted the State aid approval.”
To remind, following an expression of interest procedure, the companies selected for the IPCEI Hydrogen were able to form value chains and clusters across Europe in a so-called match-making process. These were registered with the EC in four topic-based “IPCEI waves:” Hy2Infra, focusing on generation and infrastructure, Hy2Tech, on technology, Hy2Use, on utilization and Hy2Move, on mobility.
The Hy2Tech and Hy2Use were approved by the EC in 2022 and are already being implemented. EU members Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia are involved in the Hy2Infra wave that has now been approved.