EU approves €3bn in German state aid for clean technology manufacturing including hydrogen
Source：hydrogeninsight
The European Commission has given the green light to a €3bn ($3.5bn) German plan to boost clean technology manufacturing capacity, which could include investments in electrolysers, fuel cells and H2 refuelling equipment.
The scheme will support the production of net-zero technologies listed under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) — legislation adopted by the EU last summer that sets conditions for government aid under the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.
These include wind turbines, solar panels, electrolysers, fuel cells, along with , along with a range of other hydrogen technologies including compressors, refuelling stations, H2 pipelines, storage facilities, and equipment for the conversion of hydrogen to and from ammonia.
Neither the commission nor the German government has said which, if any, of these hydrogen technologies may benefit from €3bn state aid package, however, Germany has typically been a firm supporter of H2.
Last month, the country announced plans to provide €220m in subsidies for new hydrogen refuelling stations, having set mandates for the use of green hydrogen in transport in December last year.
The new state aid will take the form of grants, tax relief, subsides on interest for new loans, or guarantees for new loans, the commission said, and will be open to companies across Germany until the end of 2030.
The CISAF more broadly allows for other types of state aid, such as supporting investments to decarbonise industry, including with hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels.
Under EU state-aid law, governments must obtain European Commission approval before granting subsidies that could distort competition, ensuring companies in other EU countries are not placed at a disadvantage.
“The commission concluded that the German scheme is necessary, appropriate and, proportionate to accelerate the transition towards a net-zero economy and facilitate the development of certain economic activities, which are of importance for the implementation of the Clean Industrial Deal,” the commission said.
The Clean Industrial Deal, announced in February last year, constitutes a series of new policies to enhance the EU’s industrial competitiveness on the path to net zero, which included the launch of the third European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) auction and the adoption of a new Delegated Act on low-carbon hydrogen.