On Monday 29 July, the European Commission authorised, under EU State aid rules, €998 million in support from the Netherlands for the production of renewable hydrogen.
The measure aims to contribute to the development of renewable hydrogen in line with the objectives of the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the European Green Deal. The scheme will help to achieve the objectives of the REPowerEU plan. The aid will be used to build at least 200 MW of electrolysis capacity. It will take the form of a direct subsidy combining an initial investment subsidy of up to 80% of investment costs and a variable premium over a period of 5 to 10 years. The aid will contribute to the Netherlands’ efforts to achieve an electrolyser capacity of 500 MW by 2025 and 3 to 4 GW by 2030. It will also support the EU’s ambitions to install at least 6 GW of electrolysers producing renewable hydrogen by 2024 and at least 40 GW by 2030. In this way, the Netherlands hopes to avoid emitting the equivalent of around 55 kilotons of CO2 every year until 2030. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)