Posted on 04 Sep 2024
The European Commission is changing rules for its upcoming green hydrogen auction to help more European electrolyser companies win bids under the European Hydrogen Bank mechanism, Kallanish learns.
“This month, we will propose the house rules for Europe’s next auction of support for hydrogen projects. While the first auction showed that European electrolysers have a good presence, China is now oversupplying them at ever-lower costs,” said Wopke Hoekstra, the European Commissioner for Climate Action, during a speech for students at Eindhoven University of Technology on 2 September. “So, I will ensure that the next auction is different. We will have explicit criteria to build European electrolyser supply chains.”
He also described the example of how Chinese companies “almost wiped out European’s solar industry,” indicating that the hydrogen industry may be also at similar risk.
“China is challenging us, in such a fundamental way, that it would be naive to deny that Europe has a China problem... We aim not to sever ties with China. But we will have to restore the balance,” he claimed.
According to reports, during the first auction closed in February, projects using non-EU technologies gained capital support of about half of the total budget in that round. The European Commission said in late April that €720 million ($795.4m) was awarded to fund seven renewable hydrogen projects in Europe totalling 1.5 gigawatts. The financial support ranged from €0.37 to €0.46/kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced.
“Tighter rules” are expected in the second auction this autumn, which will award €1.2 billion to green hydrogen projects. However, it’s unclear what the requirements will be.
Kallanish has contacted the European Commission for clarification.
Over the past few months, leading European electrolysers, including Nel, Siemens, and thyssenkrupp nucera, have urged European policymakers to help them compete with Chinese manufacturers by making “Made in Europe” a requirement for certain hydrogen projects.
“The absence of such conditions will lead to the dumping of highly subsidised Chinese electrolysers gaining large market shares in Europe,” Jorgo Chatzimarkakis ceo of trade body Hydrogen Europe has said.
Hoekstra says the European economy “simply lacks the dynamism, innovation, and entrepreneurship” required to compete and deliver sustainable economic growth. “I am convinced we have the ability to tackle these issues and to shape our future. But we are in urgent need of renewal,” he adds.
Source:Kallanish
