In January 2024, the Japanese government released its "Interim Summary Report" in relation to its hydrogen strategies. The Report summarizes Japan's latest plans on hydrogen, including updates on the proposed "contract-for-difference" type of government support program. Background On 29 January 2024, the Japanese government released its "Interim Summary Report" (chukan torimatome)1 (the "Report")...
Hydrogen Subsidies
The EU has approved a plan by the German government to grant steel giant ArcelorMittal €1.3bn ($1.4bn) to partially decarbonise two of its steel mills with equipment designed to use green hydrogen — despite the company saying last week that such technology is too expensive to operate with renewable H2 in Europe. The Luxembourg-headquartered company will receive the direct grant from Berlin to...
Over the past two weeks, cities across South Korea have been unveiling subsidies for hydrogen cars that will effectively halve the cost of a new model for citizens and local businesses. The entirety of this funding is set to go to the Korean-made Hyundai Nexo, the only hydrogen car currently on sale in the country. In January, the central government said it would provide subsidies of 22.5m won ($16,875)...
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is considering a subsidy scheme to support the use of green hydrogen to generate power as a way to provide “round the clock” renewable electricity, as well as peaking power to the grid. One of the mechanisms that has been tabled is a Contract for Difference. In this type of subsidy, if the market power price is lower than a “strike price” agreed...
Led by Big Oil and other polluters, a massive lobbying campaign is underway to ensure that “clean hydrogen” is defined as laxly as possible. The largest single target of this lobbying blitz is the 45V hydrogen tax credit, passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act and expected to cost taxpayers hundreds of billions over the next...
Massive boost for green hydrogen exporters as Germany allocates €3.5bn to H2Global auction subsidies
The German government is to transfer more than €3.5bn ($3.8bn) to the country’s pioneering green hydrogen purchasing programme, H2Global, in order to fund further subsidy auctions for renewable H2 and its derivatives this year, the company tasked with managing the scheme has announced today (Monday). The Hydrogen Intermediary Network Company (Hint.Co), which uses the funds it receives to auction...
Seven EU member states are set to shell out billions of euros to deploy hydrogen infrastructure in the bloc, after the European Commission (EC) today (Thursday) gave the so-called “Hy2Infra” programme the green light to proceed. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia are to spend a collective €6.9bn ($7.4bn) to support 32 companies in their delivery of 33...
Belgian start-up Tree Energy Solutions (TES) — which plans to produce e-methane from green hydrogen at scale — has raised €140m in its latest fundraising round, despite concerns over the viability of its core business model and its reliance on multiple subsidies. The new cash injection — much of which came from existing shareholders — will be used to help develop the company’s global...
The German government has granted millions of euros of funding to a 10MW Australian electrolyser project that aims to demonstrate that green hydrogen-derived methanol can be produced from solar power. The proposed “SM1” green methanol plant in Port Augusta, South Australia has secured a €24.3m ($26.1m) grant, with over half coming from Berlin. The 10MW project is being developed by Hamburg-based...
The future of low-carbon hydrogen hinges on global policymakers introducing regulations and subsidies that focus on the carbon intensity of the hydrogen produced rather than its colour, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Horizons report ‘Over the rainbow: Why understanding full value-chain carbon intensity is trumping the colour of hydrogen.’ “The push for better measurement of efforts to cut...