The European Commission has approved a €400m Austrian state aid scheme and a €36m Lithuanian state aid scheme, to support the production of renewable hydrogen.
The funding will is related to the European Hydrogen Bank’s “Auctions-as-a-Service” tool for the auction closing in 2025.
The schemes will contribute to the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal to accelerate the decarbonisation of EU industry while strengthening its competitiveness, of the REPowerEU Plan to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition, as well as the EU Hydrogen Strategy.
Austria and Lithuania notified the Commission of their intention to introduce schemes to support the production of renewable hydrogen through the “Auctions-as-a-Service” tool within the European Hydrogen Bank.
The approved schemes will support the production of up to 112,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen in Austria, and 13,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen in Lithuania.
The aid will be awarded through a competitive bidding process to be concluded in the first quarter of 2025.
The bidding process will be supervised by the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) which will receive, assess, and rank bids for projects in all Member States.
The support provided under the schemes will be open to companies planning to construct new electrolysers in Austria and Lithuania.
Under the schemes, the aid will take the form of a direct grant per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced.
Beneficiaries will have to prove compliance with EU criteria for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs).
This includes contributing to the deployment or financing of the additional renewable electricity which is needed to produce the hydrogen supported under the scheme.