The European Commission has approved a EUR 1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) joint state aid package put forward by Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain for research and development projects on hydrogen technologies and applications.
The IPCEI Hy2Move package, which is the fourth Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on the hydrogen value chain, supports 11 companies for 13 innovative projects. The owners’ share of the investment is expected to be EUR 3.3 billion ($3.6 billion), the Commission said in a statement.
In the transport sector, IPCEI Hy2Move supports “applications to integrate hydrogen technologies in transport means (road, maritime and aviation)… for example, fuel cell vehicle platforms for use in buses and trucks”. The companies selected in this sector are Air Products in the Netherlands; Airbus and BMW in Germany; Airbus and Hydrogene de France in France; Airbus and Evolution Synergetique in Spain; Skeleton in Estonia; and Tomark in Slovakia.
The aid also supports projects to develop high-performance fuel cell technologies, which use hydrogen to produce electricity. The recipients under this theme are Airbus and BMW in Germany; Hydrogene de France and Michelin in France; and UFI in Italy.
Another technology supported by IPCEI Hy2Move is hydrogen storage tanks. Funded for this undertaking are Airbus’ French, German and Spanish arms, as well as BMW and Tomark.
IPCEI Hy2Move also picked projects on hydrogen production technologies, particularly those that can be used to refuel using pressurized 99.99 percent pure fuel cell-grade hydrogen. The beneficiaries in this topic are Air Products; Gen-Hy Cube and Michelin in France; and Neumann & Esser in Germany.
“The participating companies will cooperate with each other as well as with the associated partner Breuer Technical Development, a Belgian SME [small and medium enterprise], and with over 200 indirect partners, such as universities, research organizations and SMEs across Europe”, the Commission added.
“All 13 projects part of the IPCEI are highly ambitious, as they aim at developing technologies and processes that go beyond current technology and will allow major improvements notably in the areas of mobility and transport applications, fuel cells, on-board hydrogen storage and generation of hydrogen for the use in mobility and transport”, the Commission said.
Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president in charge of competition policy at the Commission, said in a statement, “Hydrogen can support us to move around and transport goods with zero emissions, but investing into hydrogen powered mobility and transport technologies can be risky for one Member State or one company alone”.
“This is where State aid rules for IPCEI have a role to play”, Vestager added.
The EU aims to reach 10 million metric tons of hydrogen production capacity by 2030, as set out in the 27-member bloc’s hydrogen strategy adopted 2020.
Last April the Commission announced the results of the first auction under the European Hydrogen Bank, an EU funding program to scale up hydrogen production. Seven projects across Finland, Norway, Portugal and Spain were to receive a total of EUR 720 million ($771.1 million).
“The winning bidders will produce renewable hydrogen in Europe and will receive a subsidy to bridge the price difference between their production costs and the market price for hydrogen, which is currently driven by non-renewable producers”, the Commission said in a statement April 30.
Three projects in Spain with a combined output of 595 megawatts electric (mWe) were among the seven provisional recipients, which will now have to undergo individual grant agreements with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. Renato Ptx Holdco will build the 500 mWe Catalina project, while the other two smaller projects are under Benbros Energy SL (the 60 mWe El Alamillo H2) and Angus (the 35 mWe Hysencia).
The two Portuguese projects in this cohort have a combined capacity of 700 mWe: Madoquapower 2x’s MP2X project (500 mWe) and Petrogal SA’s Grey2Green II project (200 mWe).
In Norway, the Skiga project by the namesake company has a 117 mWe capacity.
Rounding up this round is the 90 mWe eNRG Lahti project of Nordic Ren-Gas Oy in Finland.
“Together, the winning bidders plan to produce 1.58 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years, avoiding more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions”, the Commission said.
“The renewable hydrogen they produce will be used in sectors such as steel, chemicals, maritime transport and fertilizers”, it said.
The seven projects will receive subsidies of EUR 8 million ($8.6 million) to EUR 245 million ($264.4 million).
In the inaugural rollout, the producers get a fixed premium per kilogram of output, capped at EUR 4.5 ($4.9) a kilogram.
Projects throughout the duration of the Hydrogen Bank will receive a subsidy on top of the market revenues that they generate from hydrogen sales, for up to 10 years. They will have to start producing renewable hydrogen within five years upon the signing of grant agreements.
For the awardees in the first auction, the Commission expects the grant agreements to be signed by November.
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