The Hydrogen Stream: Germany’s hydrogen strategy takes shape

Germany made progress with its hydrogen strategy, while Australia announced plans for a hydrogen feasibility study.

Image: German Government, Kugler

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Canada and Germany have agreed to establish a “first-of-its-kind” transatlantic hydrogen corridor. The Canadian government said the deal positions the nation as a priority market for Germany to source hydrogen, granting Canadian producers a first-mover advantage and solidifying Canada's leadership in globally supplying clean hydrogen. Germany's H2Global Foundation will oversee coordinated auctions to connect Canadian hydrogen exporters with German buyers, aiming to secure commercially binding contracts and displace European imports of Russian oil and gas.

Germany has launched the first bidding process for the €4 billion ($4.3 billion) Climate Protection Contracts funding program. “Companies in the energy-intensive industry that successfully participated in the preparatory process in summer 2023 can apply for 15-year funding for their major transformation projects within the next four months,” said the German government. Climate protection contracts are intended to initiate climate-friendly production processes in energy-intensive industrial sectors, offsetting the additional costs compared to conventional processes in areas where climate-friendly production processes cannot compete.

Gascade and Repco have agreed to connect Germany's Baltic Sea ports of Rostock and Lubmin and link them to the Berlin/Brandenburg and Halle/Leipzig/Leuna consumption regions. “Repco's HyTechHafen Rostock hydrogen production project and the Rostock region as well as the industrial port of Lubmin are to be connected to the greater Berlin/Brandenburg area and the Halle/Leipzig/Leuna industrial area via Gascade's hydrogen pipelines Rostock-Wrangelsburg and Flow – making hydrogen happen,” said the two German companies.

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Lhyfe will secure a grant of up to €149 million from the French government to build a green hydrogen production plant with a 100 MW of electrolysis capacity near Le Havre, France. The company said the production site in Gonfreville-l'Orcher is scheduled to be operational by 2028.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced more than $16 million of funding to advance innovation in clean hydrogen through the Hydrogen and Clean Fuel Program. “This funding will support research, development, and demonstration projects and also help leverage federal hydrogen funding opportunities, promoting the use of clean hydrogen in industrial processes, clean transportation, energy storage, and for grid support,” said Hochul.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) has announced an AUD 1.7 million ($1.1 million) grant to Aboriginal Clean Energy Partnership (Acer) to support the first phase of a feasibility study for the East Kimberley Clean Energy and Hydrogen Project. ARENA said that the first phase of the feasibility study will begin promptly and is expected to conclude within five months. If successful, the planned facility will include around 1,000 MW of solar generation combined with 850 MW of electrolysis capacity.

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