The Hydrogen Bank will be launched in the EU from the fall of 2023 with an initial funding of €800 million, which is intended to partially subsidize the production of green hydrogen.
The industry welcomed such an initiative, while industry experts criticized it, EURACTIV reports.
It is noted that the creation of the bank was announced by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in September 2022. The initiative is part of the bloc's goal of producing 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030.
The article explained that if the price of hydrogen is affordable, the demand for green hydrogen is almost guaranteed in industries such as petrochemicals, which currently use hydrogen produced from fossil gas.
"This is definitely a key technology," said the head of the EU's Green deal, Frans Timmermans. "But only 10% of hydrogen projects have reached a final investment decision."
It is noted that the Hydrogen Bank will help solve this problem. And also help manufacturers find buyers.
Timmermans explained that the bank will offer a green premium for renewable hydrogen produced in the EU.
The article emphasized that the bank will announce a tender starting in the fall of 2023. Companies that want a share of the €800 million must submit their production bids, and those with the lowest costs will get the money. Funding will come from the Innovation Fund, which receives its income from the EU carbon market. They use open banking.
It is noted that in the coming years, the bank will also promote the import of foreign-produced hydrogen. This mechanism is being developed.
According to EU officials, the environmental premium for meeting hydrogen targets by 2030 will be around €100 billion for domestic and overseas projects. As the hydrogen bank has a budget of €3 billion, the EU executive is relying on the private sector to fill the gap.
The material emphasized that in one industry welcomed such an initiative of the European Commission.
Yorgo Chatsimarkakis, CEO of the industry lobby group Hydrogen Europe, called it a turning point for accelerating the hydrogen economy. The Bank will also strengthen other EU initiatives for the development of the hydrogen industry.
However, some industry experts have expressed doubts about the size of the bank, given the EU's 2030 production targets.
Andreas Graf, a lawyer responsible for EU energy policy at the German think tank Agora Energiewende, said that with the support € 1 per kg of hydrogen will be needed € 1 billion to finance the cost of supporting 1 million tons of hydrogen. Currently, the costs of producing green hydrogen reach € 2.5 to € 15 for 1 kg. That means much more funding is needed.
"The European hydrogen bank is a victory for lobbyists," said hydrogen analyst Hnievomir Flis.
"This scheme misses a key opportunity to direct hydrogen to those sectors that need it the most and have no alternative path to decarbonization," said Marta Lovizolo, policy advisor at the Norwegian think tank Bellona.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the European Commission is developing a law on industry with zero emissions, which is designed to speed up permitting procedures for key projects in 5 areas of green technologies.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, researchers from Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association have established threshold values for hydrogen emissions, exceeding which will exacerbate climate change for decades.
