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RSB supports Germany’s H2Global to ramp up hydrogen economy

As the world comes face-to-face with the impacts of climate change, the goal of decarbonisation has become ever more important. However, this will require significant changes in all sectors of the economy. For the complete transformation towards a CO₂-neutral future, it is argued that we will have to depend on the use of green hydrogen and its derivatives, such as ammonia, methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel.

In this light, RSB is proud to be playing a supporting role in the H2Global funding programme – an important instrument of the German government to ramp up the hydrogen economy, which has been designed to pave the way for PtX products that are sustainably produced from renewable energies in partner countries to be available in Germany and Europe.

H2Global is an auction-based mechanism with the objective to promote a timely and effective PtX market ramp-up on an industrial scale. A dedicated intermediary, the Hydrogen Intermediary Network Company GmbH (HINT.CO), will conclude long-term purchase contracts on the supply side and short-term sales contracts on the demand side. The combination of these long-term purchase agreements with HINT.CO as a government-backed off-taker provide the necessary investment security to unlock large-scale investments now, resulting in a catalytic effect for ramping up the hydrogen economy.

Figure 1: How the H2Global mechanism works

 

RSB‘s role – in collaboration with a number of other leading organisations like TÜV SÜDLBST Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik GmbHBET Büro für Energiewirtschaft und technische PlanungEY as well as the law firms REDEKER SELLNER DAHS Rechtsanwälte and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – has been to specifically support H2Global by refining sustainability criteria additional to the RED II criteria, and has been contributing in market consultations too.

Now, the German Government is currently holding an international consultation of interested stakeholders in order to ensure that the funding design is based on a well-informed and comprehensive understanding of the short-term potential availability and transport of and demand for green PtX products. 

To clarify final details about the upcoming 1st tenders for the H2Global initiative, detailed information is provided in a presentation that is available here on a dedicated website. The contents thereof were also presented in a public webinar that took place on July 13th. For transparency, a recording of the webinar is also available on the website.

Stakeholders have the opportunity to submit written comments on the details of the upcoming tenders via e-mail. To give all stakeholders sufficient time to familiarise themselves with the presented details of the funding mechanism and the current status of considerations with regard to the design of the tenders and product requirements, the market consultation has been prolonged until August 10th, 2022.

One objective of the market consultation is to base the final design on an understanding of the positions of market players that is as precise as possible. Changes to the fundamental characteristics of the scheme and the design of the tenders are unlikely, and are in parts determined by the granted EU state aid approval and the funding decision of the German government.

For more information, please visit https://www.h2-global.org.

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