The Hydrogen Stream: EU backs 15 hydrogen projects

The European Commission has selected projects for €992 million ($1.1 billion) of EU public funding, while the Japanese government has agreed to provide $4.80 in subsidies for hydrogen fuel cell trucks.

The European Commission has selected 15 renewable hydrogen production projects for €992 million in EU public funding across the European Economic Area (EEA). “The projects, located across five countries, are expected to produce nearly 2.2 million tons of renewable hydrogen over ten years,” said the European executive body. Eight projects will be in Spain, three in Norway, two in Germany, one in Finland, and one in the Netherlands. The biggest projects in terms of bid capacity are one in the Netherlands, followed by one in Germany. In terms of bid price, seven out of the eight cheapest hydrogen projects are in Spain. The funds will come from Innovation Fund, sourced from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

The European Union, which recently decided to continue technical regulatory exchanges on hydrogen with the United Kingdom, has published its opinion on the statutory documents of the European Network of Network Operators for Hydrogen (ENNOH), the association representing future hydrogen transmission network operators at the EU level. The European Commission said the operators must adopt and publish the final statutory documents by early July 2025, incorporating feedback from both the Commission and the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

The Japanese government has agreed to subsidize hydrogen for fuel cell trucks and buses in six prefectures, with the subsidy set at JPY 700 ($4.80)/kg, according to Nikkei. Government official Shinichi Kihara said at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam that Japan’s contracts-for-difference (CfD) program for clean hydrogen has been oversubscribed, with project selection expected to begin in the latter half of the fiscal year. Japanese and German officials also met in Rotterdam to discuss hydrogen demand creation and financing.

Infinium has selected Electric Hydrogen’s 100 MW solution for its large-scale eFuels facility in Texas. “Electric Hydrogen’s HYPRPlant is a complete solution that lowers hydrogen total installed project cost by up to 60% relative to other electrolyzer solutions,” said Electric Hydrogen, which produces the system between Massachusetts and Texas. Electric Hydrogen said that its modular manufacturing approach makes the HYPR plant “less expensive and more reliable” than imported Chinese products.

KK Wind Solutions has agreed to supply 10 customized power supply units for Sunfire’s 100 MW pressurized alkaline electrolyzer, with each unit including transformers, rectifiers, AC connections, and cooling systems. It previously delivered two units for Sunfire’s 10 MW pilot electrolyzer in 2023, each consisting of a 5 MW rectifier and a transformer. KK Wind Solutions said the experience from that project was critical to scaling the power supply units to 10 MW for full-scale green hydrogen production.