Germany invests €550m in two new global green hydrogen funds that will close 'important' finance gap
Money will be used to support H2 investments in emerging nations and to accelerate worldwide market ramp-up
The German government has announced plans to provide €550m ($571m) for two new green hydrogen funds — to be set up this year — to help grow the sector both globally and in emerging markets.
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“The new funding offer, which is managed by KfW [Germany’s national development bank], closes an important funding gap: while the double auction model ‘H2Global’ promotes hydrogen imports to Germany, the new funds are intended to significantly accelerate the establishment of a global hydrogen value chain and, in particular, support projects in development and finance emerging markets,” said the BMZ press release.
“The funds are to be set up this year to enable timely investments and significantly accelerate the ramp-up of the global hydrogen value chain.
“They are intended to help reduce the financing gap for large-scale green hydrogen projects. The funds subsidize investments along the entire value chain: from the production of green hydrogen, through processing, to storage and the transport infrastructure for hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives.
Federal development minister Svenja Schulze said: “Many developing countries offer the best conditions for [green hydrogen] production, but there is a risk that they will still be excluded from the value chains of the future.
“So far, funding programs have mainly existed in rich countries. The new green hydrogen economy must become fairer than the old fossil economy. This means that the developing countries must also benefit from the value chains of the future. That is why we want to use the new development fund not only to promote the production but also the use of green hydrogen in developing countries.”
The Ptx Growth Fund — which will come under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate — will support German (or European companies with permanent German operations) by subsidising “cyclical investments that can contribute to the global market ramp-up of green hydrogen”.
Stefan Wenzel, parliamentary state secretary at the economics and climate ministry, explained: “Due to the current energy crisis, the hydrogen ramp-up is progressing faster than previously thought. The task now is to create the framework for the emerging international market for green hydrogen.”