Seven large hydrogen projects in the Netherlands receive a subsidy for electrolysis | News item
News item | 20-12-2022 | 5:30 PM
With a total available budget of almost €800 million, seven Dutch high-impact projects for hydrogen production are being subsidised. The projects receive a subsidy from the distributed second wave of the IPCEI hydrogen: this wave includes projects aimed at making the industry more sustainable. If all projects are completed according to plan, they will together provide a capacity of 1,150 megawatts of electrolysis to produce hydrogen. That is more than a quarter of the target for 2030 from the Climate Agreement.
The companies that have prepared themselves for the financial support have been assessed by RVO in recent months. Seven projects have been approved and together receive a €783.5 million subsidy. Today, the projects that have passed through the review have become intellectual. It’s about the companies Rotterdam Hydrogen Company BV (Shell), H2ermes BV, Air Liquide Industry BV, HyCC / H2-Fifty BV, Air Liquide Industry BV, Ørsted Holding Hydrogen Netherlands BV and Engie Energie Nederland NV. The companies have plans to use the renewable hydrogen for, for example, making steel production more sustainable, for use in refineries, or for the production of fertilizer.
The government sees an important role for green hydrogen in making the industry more sustainable and for Europe’s competitive position in relation to other parts of the world. With the IPCEI subsidies, the government is giving an impulse to the hydrogen market and the technologies that are required for it. The energy crisis and high energy prices make it even more urgent to become independent from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and to make the industry more sustainable.
An IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) is a European project consisting of several national projects of companies or research institutes from various EU Member States. The projects are complementary, have synergy with each other and contribute to strategic European goals in the field of hydrogen. In total there are four waves of IPCEI hydrogen subsidies, with a total available budget in the Netherlands of €1.6 billion. Earlier this year, it was announced which business grant will be received under the first wave (technology). € 595 million is available for the third wave, which focuses on storage and import infrastructure. The subsidy scheme for this wave was open for registration last month. RVO interim registrations. For wave 4, an amount of €199 million is available for hydrogen in mobility and transport. The subsidy scheme for the fourth wave will be published in 2023.