Politics and Law

The industry association BDEW is calling on the German government to establish Contracts for Difference as a central instrument for scaling up hydrogen. This requires a dedicated budget item in the Climate and Transformation Fund 2027.

The industry association AquaVentus demands in its statement on the Area Development Plan 2025 the retention of the offshore area SEN-1. Otherwise, the ramp-up of offshore electrolysis in the German North Sea is at risk. The association proposes two electrolysis platforms, each with 250 MW.

The European Commission has presented its revision of the Emissions Trading System and the Electrification Action Plan. According to the industry association Hydrogen Europe, both initiatives are of great importance for the hydrogen economy. A €100 billion bank for industrial decarbonisation is also planned.

For hydrogen to be able to be used as an important part of the energy transition comprehensively in industry, mobility and energy supply in Germany, new lines must be built and existing natural gas pipelines must also be upgraded for hydrogen transport. This can be challenging, as hydrogen is explosive and attacks the materials of the pipes. Professional material testing creates the necessary security regarding this.

Two projects from partners of the trinational hydrogen network 3H2 receive funding from the state program ELY. Electrolysers with a total capacity of 2 MW are to be built in Achern and Kehl. The goal is to establish regional hydrogen hubs.

When the European Hydrogen Bank’s first pilot auction (Innovation Fund Auction IF23) was announced on Sept. 5, 2023, it drew much attention. April 30, 2024, then saw the publication of the results for the pilot auction, for which the European Union was making EUR 800 million of support available. Seven projects from northern and southern Europe were successful in obtaining funding. The aim of the hydrogen auction is to accelerate the rollout of green hydrogen and send price signals by narrowing the cost gap between green and fossil-based hydrogen.

The European Commission is allocating nearly 720 million euros to seven projects for renewable hydrogen in Europe. Together, the involved stakeholders aim to produce 1.58 million tons of renewable hydrogen over ten years, thereby avoiding more than 10 million tons of CO2 emissions. Of the selected...