Hamburg, 28 March 2023. By 2030, European Union members plan to meet 45 percent of their energy needs from renewable energy sources and use 20 million tons of renewable hydrogen as an energy and power source. Such milestones towards climate neutrality were set in November 2022 during the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh. At the H2EXPO & CONFERENCE, decision-makers and key players in the hydrogen economy will meet from June 28th to 29th to discuss and exchange strategies on the path towards climate neutrality. Over two days, the Hamburg Exhibition Centre will provide a platform for the latest findings and information about the general circumstances and funding options within the entire H2 value chain.
Andreas Arnheim, Project Manager of the H2EXPO & CONFERENCE at Hamburg Messe and Congress (HMC), stated: “Within the field of hydrogen technology, many national and international guidelines, frameworks and industry-specific funding measures exist. To provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview, the H2EXPO & CONFERENCE is offering an international symposium with panel discussions, lecture sessions on specific topics, short presentations, and an accompanying exhibition”.
Funding databases: Who is sponsoring what?
In addition to the need for excellent engineering know-how, the development of new technologies and processes often requires reliable start-up capital to establish complex testing setups with measurement runs. Last but not least, we also have to consider the personnel costs. Another challenge is that many years can elapse before a market-ready product or process is created. Nevertheless, the time to implement a climate-friendly energy supply has now come rapidly upon us. With the hydrogen strategy, the federal government has set the course to make Germany an international pioneer in hydrogen technologies. Up until 2030, 9 billion euros will be made available for national hydrogen projects and the expansion of international partnerships. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection has set up a platform at www.foerderdatenbank.de on which comprehensive information about funding opportunities and organisations can be searched for and obtained at the press of a button. As one example, around 60 programs are currently listed under the keyword “Wasserstoff” alone.
The European portal is multilingual and it shall certainly prove fruitful when researching your own project keywords in different languages: The term “Wasserstoff” currently produces 320 search results for funding programs, whereas the term “hydrogen” only produces 197 results. European funding programs are offered within fiscal time frames. The current time frame for applying for and implementing projects is between 2021 and 2027. https://commission.europa.eu/funding- tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes_en
Guidelines and certification system: Renewable Hydrogen
On 13 February 2023, two “Delegated Acts” were submitted to the European Parliament and the European Council for review. Delegated acts refer to legal forms of action within the EU. They define the objectives, content, scope, and duration of delegations of power for a specific legal act, thereby creating a reliable legal basis for investments.
In the first draft, a set of rules defines the conditions under which hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels (Power-to-X, PtX) are considered renewable combustibles and fuels of non-biogenic origin. In the future, these regulations will relate both to domestic products as well as renewable hydrogen that will be imported into the EU from third countries.
The second piece of legislation provides a method for calculating total life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from renewable fuels (RFNBOs – Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin). The upstream emissions that are produced when electricity is withdrawn from the grid are also considered here. Emissions that are released through processing and energy transport are also included in the calculations. This enables consumers to compare the environmental impact of energy sources, and in turn creates market incentives for continuous investment in climate-neutral energy solutions. https://h2-region-emsland.de/2023/02/14/europaeische-kommission-veroeffentlicht-richtlinien- fuer-gruenen-wasserstoff/
“In addition to grid expansion, both legal certainty and a clear classification of renewable energy sources are of key importance for companies and consortia alike. One can assume that during the H2EXPO & CONFERENCE, we will already find out what effects the delegated acts will have on the market ramp-up within the industry” stated the project manager for the H2EXPO & CONFERENCE, Andreas Arnheim, in a report dated 13 February.
Forced H2 market ramp-up with purchase guarantees: H2Global
The H2Global Foundation was established in 2021 to enable a rapid global and competitive market ramp-up of green hydrogen and its derivatives (PtX). Providers of green hydrogen offer this energy form on a hydrogen exchange, and orders are placed using a double auction model: The lowest bid price and the highest selling price win the auction. Long-term purchase agreements with fixed prices are investment incentives that also offer excellent investment security. As a central funding initiative of the federal government, the difference between purchase and sale contracts is compensated for by grants from the federal government. This procedure is realised through an intermediary: the H2Global foundation subsidiary Hydrogen Intermediary Company‘ (HINT.CO).https://www.h2global-stiftung.com/project/h2g-mechanism
Claus Ulrich Selbach, Head of the Maritime & Technology Trade Fairs Division at HMC,
summarizes: “Our path to climate-neutral energy security can only be achieved with cross-sectoral political support, economic investment incentives, and secure sales markets. The H2EXPO & CONFERENCE, in addition to enabling an intensive transfer of knowledge, offers excellent opportunities for building and maintaining strong networks that can provide trend-setting impulses.”
