Germany is planning to provide another 550 million euros for the establishment of new hydrogen funds at KfW.
This was announced by German Development Minister Svenja Schulze and Stefan Wenzel, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Economic Affairs Ministry, at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
More specifically, two special hydrogen funds are to be created in order to provide tailored support. The PtX Development Fund will foster hydrogen investment in developing and emerging economies, while the PtX Growth Fund will contribute to accelerating the global market and infrastructure development for green hydrogen across all countries.
It is not only climate change but also the current energy crisis that is showing us worldwide just how important it is to develop alternatives to coal, oil and gas. Green hydrogen is a key technology in this regard
said Development Minister, Svenja Schulze.
What is more, Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Wenzel, added that “Germany is working both nationally and internationally to advance the development of climate-neutral energy networks – based on green hydrogen if possible, because in all instances where we cannot make the energy supply carbon-free through renewable, clean electricity and more energy efficiency, we will need green hydrogen and PtX products.”
The new support programme, which will be administered by KfW, will close a significant support gap. While “H2 Global” is a double auction mechanism to support the import of hydrogen to Germany, the new funds are intended to significantly accelerate the development of the global hydrogen value chain. To that end, they will put a focus on financing projects in developing and emerging economies.
The effort will be based on two pillars:
- The Development Fund, under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), will be provided with 250 million euros.
- The Growth Fund, under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), is to be provided with 300 million euros.
The funds are to be set up before the end of this year in order to facilitate investment in the near future and significantly accelerate the development of the global hydrogen value chain.
They are also intended to help reduce the funding gap for large-scale green hydrogen projects. They will provide grants for investments along the entire value chain, from green hydrogen production to processing all the way to storage and hydrogen and PtX product transport infrastructure.
The PtX products can be used locally in the partner countries or be exported for purposes such as fertiliser production from green ammonia, replacement of natural gas for carbon-free steel and metal production, and e-kerosene for aviation, shipping and heavy goods vehicles.
