Through its EU Innovation Fund, the European Union has pledged investment of €4.8 billion of emissions trading revenues in innovative net-zero projects with hydrogen projects accounting for about one-third of the total. The funds will be split by 85 net-zero projects to receive the grants, aimed at putting cutting-edge clean technologies into action across Europe.
For the first time, projects of different scales — large, medium and small, alongside pilots –and with a cleantech manufacturing focus were awarded under the 2023 call for proposals. The landmark funding is the largest since the start of the Innovation Fund in 2020, boosting the total amount of grants to €12 billion and increasing the number of projects by 70%.
The selected projects are located in 18 countries: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and Norway. They cover a wide range of sectors from the following categories: energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, energy storage, Industrial Carbon Management, net-zero mobility (including maritime and aviation) and buildings.
The projects are set to begin operating before 2030 and over their first ten years of operation are expected to reduce emissions by about 476 million tons of CO2 equivalent. This will contribute to European decarbonization objectives, reducing emissions from those sectors that are particularly difficult to decarbonize, strengthen European industrial manufacturing capacity and reinforce Europe’s technology leadership and supply chain resilience, says the Commission.
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, commented: “We are thrilled to see the significant commitment from the European Commission in supporting innovative hydrogen projects through the Innovation Fund,” commented Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe. “This €4.8 billion investment not only represents the largest allocation since the fund’s inception but also underscores the vital role that hydrogen technologies play in achieving our decarbonisation goals. With nearly a third of the awarded projects focused on hydrogen, we are taking decisive steps towards enhancing Europe’s clean energy infrastructure. The quadrupling of funded electrolyser capacity demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to securing essential goods and boosting the competitiveness of Europe’s clean tech industry.”
Among the awarded projects, 26 focus specifically on hydrogen technologies, representing 30% of the total. This group includes six large projects and four medium projects in the general category, along with twelve manufacturing projects and four pilot projects.
In the manufacturing category, five projects will deploy proton exchange membrane electrolysers, fuel cells, and components; three will utilize alkaline technology; two will implement solid oxide electrolysis cells; one will employ anion exchange membrane technology; and one project will focus on hydrogen storage. Together they are set to generate 9.3 GW of electrolyser capacity representing a substantial increase on all previous Innovation Fund projects, which were projected to deliver 2.9 GW of capacity.
Meanwhile, the production projects selected in this call will deliver 61 kilotonnes of RFNBO annually, bringing the total yearly production supported by the Innovation Fund to 631.5 kilotonnes of RFNBO hydrogen.
The hydrogen projects are distributed across Europe with Belgium, Germany, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Estonia, Greece, and France among the recipients. Hydrogen Europe members are involved in nearly half of the awarded hydrogen projects and in several other successful consortiums.
The ETS Innovation Fund is one of the world’s most extensive funding programs dedicated to innovative low-carbon technologies. With a €40 billion budget, the revenues come from the EU Emissions Trading System.
Stay tuned to New Power Technology for more information on hydrogen awards in the program.
