DE
The decision has finally come. In mid-February 2024, the European Commission approved 24 German IPCEI projects aka Important Projects of Common European Interest. Within the framework of IPCEI Hydrogen, funding is granted to large-scale projects across the entire hydrogen value chain – from H2 production and transportation to storage infrastructure and industrial deployment.
The current situation of the German government appears to be a state of desolation: The constitutional court did not play along as hoped – albeit by the narrowest of margins – and has awarded the Ampel Coalition a 60-billion-euro gap in the budget.
The HyExpert region of AachenPLUS in Germany is facing up to the challenge of how to manage the long-term restructuring necessitated by the phaseout of brown coal. The plan is to use the emerging hydrogen economy as a means to keep value in the region, create a sustainable energy supply and facilitate a transition to cleaner modes of transport. The focus is on exchanging ideas and linking up different hydrogen projects so that the experience gained can be swiftly put to use in the region.
After a long wait, the European Commission has approved the first projects of IPCEI Hydrogen. With these Important Projects of Common European Interest, significant progress towards the establishment of a hydrogen economy is to be made.
