A solar panel manufacturer that’s laying off workers. A battery maker that spurned Europe for American subsidies. A green hydrogen project stalled for lack of electricity.These are a handful of the early results from the European Union’s Innovation Fund, a €40 billion ($43 billion) investment vehicle at the core of Europe’s plans to overhaul its economy to be zero-carbon by the middle of the...
Hydrogen Subsidies
The US Treasury's proposed guidelines on green hydrogen production, published in December, call for three requirements or "pillars" that will ensure H2 is truly green and will not lead to increased emissions: additionality, temporality, and deliverability.“Additionality” means that the green hydrogen would have to produced from new renewables projects, so that they do not utilise existing clean...
The results of the first European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) auction are due to be unveiled in May, according to EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson. In a speech to the European Australian Business Council event in Sydney, Australia, yesterday she said: “The first-ever domestic auction for renewable hydrogen production under the new European Hydrogen Bank was opened last November. “The first results can...
Steel giant ArcelorMittal has said it cannot operate its European plants using green hydrogen, despite being granted billions of euros of EU subsidies to install equipment to do so, because the resulting green steel would be unable to compete on international markets. Instead, the Luxembourg-based steelmaker appears to be intending to use fossil gas instead of H2 indefinitely in its proposed “green...
Chile plans to begin a competitive process within a month to award $50 million in subsidies for green-hydrogen projects as the biggest copper-producing nation strives to become carbon neutral. The Energy and Mining Ministry has identified about 40 projects in industries including mining and infrastructure and has received considerable interest from local and overseas groups, said Energy...
German energy company Uniper has admitted its flagship green hydrogen project in the Netherlands, H2Maasvlakte in the Port of Rotterdam, will be delayed despite recently being on course to take a final investment decision (FID). With a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study near completion and EU subsidies awarded, the project appeared to be on track for the first 100MW phase to be commissioned...
The Japanese government has revealed a multi-trillion-yen plan to develop a “Made In Japan” regional aircraft powered by next generation technology such as hydrogen. The government plans to partner up with the private sector to jointly invest ¥5trn ($33bn) over ten years to make a narrow-bodied aircraft that can hit the skies by 2035 — and all technology options are on the table, officials told...
When it comes to their hydrogen strategies, the EU and China adopt significantly different approaches.For starters, China lacks industrial decarbonization targets compared to the EU. It has a carbon neutrality objective for 2060 ( compared to 2050 for the EU) and a completely different position in the future green hydrogen market. Europe is technologically a bit more advanced, despite a higher cost in...
The Republican-dominated legislature in the US state of Oklahoma — which continues to legislate against climate-mitigation measures — is set to introduce a new subsidy for hydrogen producers and users in the state. Senate Bill 1428 is offering an “investment rebate payment” equal to 6.25% of the capital expenditure (capex) of a hydrogen project, providing that total capex is more than $800m, and...
South Korea wants to be a world leader in hydrogen vehicles, with a goal of 300,000 units on its roads by 2030, up from 34,260 today. But sales of hydrogen-powered cars plummeted to a new low in January, with only two units sold across the country, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy — a 99.4% fall compared to the same month in 2023 — despite the widespread availability of...