On Nov. 14, 2017, the National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology extended the list of eligible technologies in the NIP 2 rollout program to include electrolyzers producing hydrogen at gas stations. These new incentives could mark an important milestone in the country’s infrastructure buildup. Their implementation was a response to the drumbeat of criticism levelled at the authors of NIP 2, who were said to have ignored the technology altogether. The grants from the revised funding guideline, which makes explicit mention of electrolyzers for green hydrogen production, will help to recover up to 60 percent of the investment in a publicly accessible gas station. Asked by H2-international, the organization explained that “operators can get up to 40 percent of the difference in cost between their electrolyzer installations and conventional units to produce hydrogen. The manager of the gas station doesn’t have to be the one who runs the electrolyzer.” However, the program administrators will only accept applications submitted to the federal transportation ministry by March 31, 2018. The money for the new funding opportunity comes from the EUR 250 million budget allocated for Market Activation Measures up to 2019. Applications can be submitted online at foerderportal.bund.de/easyonline.
