Germany’s BMWi backs hydrogen market ramp-up with EUR 900m in funds

Germany’s economy ministry on Monday announced a new auction-based mechanism to support the market ramp-up of green hydrogen and said it would provide EUR 900 million (USD 1.1bn) towards this task.

The H2Global Foundation, founded by 16 companies from the energy, engineering, logistics and finance sector, officially started work this week. Through it, green hydrogen or other power-to-X products will be sourced from abroad under long-term contracts and sold in Germany via annual auctions. The EUR 900 million from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) will serve to bridge the gap between the purchase price and the domestic sales price.

To meet its decarbonisation targets, Germany will need to import significant amounts of hydrogen. With H2Global, it seeks to source it from countries that can produce green hydrogen competitively and sustainably.

The tendering process is planned to start this year, while deliveries of hydrogen products are expected to commence in 2024.

A year ago, the German government adopted a long-term strategy for green hydrogen.

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