Germany has earmarked €350m from its national budget to support renewable hydrogen production under the European Hydrogen Bank’s new Auction-as-a-Service (AaaS) scheme.
The scheme will follow a similar structure to the recently launched European Hydrogen Bank auctions, which offer up a fixed premium per kg of hydrogen for domestic renewable hydrogen producers.
Becoming the first EU member state to participate in the scheme, it will allow Germany to finance additional projects that are not selected by the Innovation Fund-backed European Hydrogen Bank auction.
“It will support hydrogen producers who sell to consumers, in particular in industry, who do not fall under other instruments, such as binding quotas for hydrogen use,” the European Commission said.
To meet AaaS criteria, project developers must have been placed on a reserve list from the Innovation Fund auction, having met all criteria as well as expressing interest in the AaaS scheme.
The terms and conditions for the EU-wide auction, published in August (2023) said projects must come into operation and demonstrate at least 100% of their nameplate capacity within five years of signing the funding contract.
Launched in November (2023), the €800m European Hydrogen Bank pilot auction will close to bidders on February 8, 2024.
Read more: €800m European Hydrogen Bank auction launched
However, the European Commission has said the German support from the auction is subject to state aid approval.
Having doubled its national hydrogen strategy domestic hydrogen production goal to 10GW by 2030, Robert Habeck, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate action said, the new auction will help the nation deliver on its targets.
Read more: Germany doubles domestic hydrogen production target to 10GW while planning import strategy
Habeck added, for policymakers and market participants, the auction represented a “big step” in increasing the availability of renewable hydrogen.
Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate Action, said the pilot Innovation Fund auction will help incentivise the final investment decisions (FIDs) that will bring projects to “fruition and the European hydrogen market to scale.”
“It’s great to have Germany on board for the first auction, and I invite more member states to follow their lead,” Hoekstra said.
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