The Dutch government is starting a subsidy scheme for smaller electrolysis projects for the production of hydrogen with sustainable energy.
The amount of almost €250m should provide 100MW of electrolysis capacity.
The government hopes to use this money to help realise 5 to 10 smaller projects throughout the country, so that several companies and local governments can gain experience with electrolysis.
Only projects up to 50MW are eligible in order to maximise the number of participants.
The government said that this would allow knowledge to be widely disseminated and lessons learned around the deployment of technology and the permit procedures can accelerate the development of subsequent projects.
All types of smaller projects are eligible for this subsidy scheme, as long as they use electricity produced by wind or solar parks.
These projects can, for example, supply hydrogen to local users, such as filling stations, small industrial companies, farms or homes. With these projects, companies can also help prevent grid congestion and use the hydrogen to store surpluses of renewable energy locally for a later date.
Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten said: “We are taking major steps to realise the major hydrogen ambitions in the Netherlands.
“I am very pleased that we can now also support smaller hydrogen projects.
“This should give the knowledge and experience with hydrogen production in the Netherlands a big boost.”
From the end of November, projects can apply for the subsidy.
The winners will be announced in early 2024.
To ensure that the projects are realized quickly, one of the requirements of the subsidy is that the projects are completed within 4 years.
Companies therefore have until 2028 to realize their electrolysis project.
In the Climate Agreement, it has been agreed that the Netherlands will have at least 4GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030.
For larger hydrogen projects, subsidy schemes such as the IPCEI or SDE++ already exist.
A tender with a budget of €1bn will also be opened for large hydrogen projects in the spring of 2024.