On Friday 5 April, the European Commission announced that it had given the green light to a German State aid scheme (SA.109550) with a budget of €350 million to support the production of up to 75,000 tonnes of ‘renewable’ hydrogen using up to 90 MW of electrolysis capacity. Projects will be supported via an “Auctions-as-a-service” system run by the European Hydrogen Bank.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is supervising a competitive bidding process for the granting of the aid. The tender process closed on 8 February. CINEA is currently assessing the bids.
The aid will be granted to selected beneficiaries provided they can demonstrate that they meet European criteria for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin. It will be paid to them in the form of a direct subsidy per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced, and will be granted for a maximum period of 10 years.
The Commission concluded that the aid complied with the European rules on State aid and, in particular, the 2022 guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy and Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)