The European Commission further strengthens the European hydrogen technology value chain by approving two Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI).
On 21 September, the European Commission (EC) approved the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) to support research and innovation, first industrial deployment and construction of relevant infrastructure in the hydrogen value chain (IPCEI Hy2Use). This follows the EC’s approval of an earlier IPCEI to support the hydrogen technology value chain (IPCEI Hy2Tech) in July, constituting two important steps within a few months to strengthen the European hydrogen technology value chain. While Hy2Use focuses on hydrogen-related infrastructure and applications in the industrial sector, Hy2Tech focuses on end-users in the mobility sector.
Already in November 2019, the Strategic Forum for IPCEI identified, among others, hydrogen technologies and systems as a critical strategic value chain for Europe. In July 2020, the Commission published its EU Hydrogen Strategy, setting ambitious goals for clean hydrogen production and use, and launched the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, bringing together the European hydrogen community (industry, civil society, public authorities). In December 2020, 20 EU-member states and Norway signed the Manifesto for the development of a European “Hydrogen Technologies and Systems” value chain and set in motion the realisation of an IPCEI on Hydrogen Technologies and Systems. In 2021, the State aid IPCEI Communication was adopted (see SwissCore article), laying the legal basis for the two new IPCEIs on Hydrogen.
15 Member States support IPCEI Hy2Tech. It will involve 41 projects from 35 companies, including 8 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups, who will collaborate closely together and with over 300 external partners, such as universities, research organisations, and SMEs across Europe. The Member States will provide up to €5.4 billion in public funding, which is expected to unlock an additional €8.8 billion in private investments and create approximately 20’000 direct jobs. IPCEI Hy2Tech should contribute to technological breakthroughs, including new highly efficient electrode materials, more performant fuel cells, and innovative transport technologies. Hence, the participating projects will focus on (i) the generation of hydrogen, (ii) fuel cells, (iii) storage, transportation and distribution of hydrogen, and (iv) end-user applications, in particular in the mobility sector.
IPCEI Hy2Use is supported by 13 Member States and will involve 35 projects from 29 companies, including SMEs and start-ups. The Member States will provide up to €5.2 billion in public funding, which is expected to unlock an additional €7 billion in private funding. Norway participates in the project as part of the European Economic Area (EEA) with two individual projects financed by State aid as notified by Norway and assessed by the EFTA Surveillance Authority. The project should boost the supply of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, thereby reducing dependency on the supply of natural gas. Hence, the projects focus on supporting (i) the construction of hydrogen-related infrastructure, notably large-scale electrolysers and transport infrastructure, for the production, storage and transport of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, and (ii) the development of innovative and more sustainable technologies for the integration of hydrogen into the industrial processes of multiple sectors, especially those that are more challenging to decarbonise, such as steel, cement and glass.
The importance of hydrogen for Europe is also demonstrated by Von der Leyen’s announcement at the State of the Union to establish a hydrogen bank, which will buy hydrogen and then pass it on to consumers at cheaper rates to promote the general investment into the technology. With the promised support of the European Investment Bank (EIB), this is a vital tool to reach the goal of replacing at least 5.7% of all fuel with renewable fuels of non-biological origin, including hydrogen, by 2030. At the same time, the aim is also to ensure that 50% of all fuel used by the industry is renewable. In addition, the REPowerEU Programme sets the target of 10 million tons of domestic renewable hydrogen production and 10 million tons of imports by 2030 to replace natural gas, coal and oil in hard-to-decarbonise industries and transport sectors. Also, on the local level, Hydrogen is becoming increasingly important, as the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking’s latest report on Hydrogen Valleys illustrates by many concrete projects. The IPCEIs on Hydrogen are thus part of a series of measures that show that hydrogen is increasingly becoming a priority for Europe.