The European Commission has granted €998m ($1.08bn) to a Dutch scheme to promote the production of green hydrogen, in addition to providing €80n to Djewels, a subsidiary of HyCC, to help the company develop its green hydrogen production technology.

Under the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the European Green Deal, the commission aims to advance the development of green hydrogen. Hydrogen can be defined as green if it is produced through the electrolysis of water with renewable energy.

The latest funding will support the construction of at least 200MW of electrolysis capacity and be distributed via a bidding process set to be finished in 2024. Projects must have a capacity of at least 0.5MW to enter the tender.

Funding will be given in the form of a direct grant, combining an upfront investment grant up for up to 80% of the investment costs and a variable premium over a period of five to ten years. The Commission stipulates that those that receive the grant will need to prove compliance with EU criteria for the production of renewable fuels for non-biological origins.

According to the Commission, the scheme will contribute to the Netherlands’ efforts to achieve 500MW of electrolyser capacity by 2025 and 3–4GW by 2030.

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of Competition Policy, said: “Developing renewable hydrogen production is a key aspect of [the] EU’s climate neutrality goal. This €998m Dutch scheme will help [in] scaling up the production of renewable hydrogen in the Netherlands by providing support to electrolysers projects of all size, while ensuring that any potential competition distortions are kept to the minimum.”

The EU hopes to build at least 6GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers by the end of 2024 and at least 40GW by 2030. Earlier this week, the German Government approved an import strategy for hydrogen, expecting national demand for hydrogen to reach 95–130 terawatt-hours by 2030.