EU approves Eur7 billion state aid for hydrogen across 33 IPCEI projects

The European Commission approved state aid for 33 hydrogen infrastructure projects as part of a third wave of funding under the IPCEI Hy2Infra 'important projects' initiative, it said Feb. 15.

The projects, shortlisted almost three years ago, could unlock investments of Eur12 billion ($13 billion), of which EU member states are to contribute Eur6.9 billion, the EU's competition commissioner Margarethe Vestager said in a statement.

Germany was a likely beneficiary of the latest round with 24 projects representing investment of Eur8 billion shortlisted, the German energy ministry said in a separate statement.

"The projects of the Hy2Infra wave are important building blocks for the hydrogen ramp-up in Germany and Europe," said Germany's energy and economy minister Robert Habeck.

Clusters of projects seeking support were prepared by seven member states: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia, the EC said.

Some 3.2 GW of electrolyzer capacity, around 2,700 km of new and repurposed hydrogen pipelines and 370 GWh of hydrogen storage plus related port infrastructure would be supported across the IPCEI projects, it said.

Previously the EC approved Hy2Tech and Hy2Use project clusters in 2022.

Other significant projects have been approved on a case-by-case basis, the German energy ministry said, notably those focused on green hydrogen for steel production.

S&P Global Commodity Insights analysts see 2030 EU green hydrogen production of around 3.2 million mt under its European Planning Case.

Europe is among the most expensive global regions for electrolytic hydrogen production, according to the Platts Hydrogen Price Wall(opens in a new tab).