The European Comission wants to make green hydrogen competitive with hydrogen obtained from fossil sources, which is why it is preparing a new subsidy scheme that will greatly benefit Spain, which aspires to become one of the leaders of the old continent in this important sector.
Although European industry currently uses about 8 million tons of hydrogen, most is obtained from natural gas in a process that produces carbon dioxide. For this reason, the authorities seek to give a greater boost to hydrogen generated using electricity from renewable sources.
Thus, the European Union will create a Hydrogen Bank to finance its development. This initiative will consist of carrying out auctions to grant subsidies in the form of a fixed premium per kg of hydrogen produced for a maximum of 10 years. The first auction of this year will offer approximately 800 million euros, and payments will be made once the hydrogen has been obtained.
Among other conditions, projects must provide evidence that they have a buyer for hydrogenas well as a supply of renewable energy for its facilities. “The bank’s goal is to reduce the cost gap to a level that private buyers are willing and able to afford”indicates the draft prepared by the Commission.
By 2030, the European Union wants to produce 10 million tons of green hydrogen per year
To increase the budget allocated to projects in their own countries, governments will be able to put national funds on the table in the auctions of the European Union. Thus, if these initiatives lose Community funding, they will still be able to receive state aid.
The European Union aspires to produce 10 million tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030, to which another 10 million imported tons would have to be added. This will require a massive investment of €471 billion (most of it from the private sector) for the installation of between 150 and 210 GW of renewable energy capacity to power the necessary electrolysers.
The ambitious project H2Med, in which Germany, Spain, France and Portugal participate, will be key to achieving these objectives, since it will allow the transport of 2 million tons of hydrogen per year (10% of community needs) through a gas pipeline that will connect the Iberian Peninsula with the center of Europe. In the heat of H2Med, our country is experiencing a veritable explosion of projects for the generation of green hydrogen.
Source | Reuters
