September 28, 2022: -On Wednesday, the European Commission agreed to 5.2 billion euros in public Budget for hydrogen projects, which it said could unlock more than 7 billion euros of buys from the private sector. The executive arm of the EU added that the bloc’s flagship project to support the research, deployment, and construction of hydrogen infrastructure, which refers to IPCEI Hy2Use, had been prepared by 13 member states to supply the public funding.

According to the commission, IPCEI Hy2Use witnesses 29 businesses participate in 35 projects.

The commission stated that IPCEI Hy2Use would support the construction of “large-scale electrolyzers and transport infrastructure, for the production, storage, and transport to renew and low-carbon hydrogen.”

The initiative will focus on increasing “innovative and more sustainable technologies for the integration of hydrogen into the industrial processes of multiple sectors” such as glass, cement, and steel.

“The IPCEI is expected to increase the supply of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, thereby decreasing dependency supplying of natural gas,” the commission stated.

Said by the International Energy Agency as a “versatile energy carrier,” Hydrogen has diverse applications and can be deployed in many industries.

It can be produced in several ways. One method includes electrolysis, with electric current splitting water into oxygen and Hydrogen.

If the electricity this way comes from a renewable source like wind or solar, then a few call it “green” or “renewable” Hydrogen. The vast majority of hydrogen generation is related to fossil fuels.

Vestager said that the investments approved under Hy2Use would enable roughly 3.5 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity to be built.

This would result “in an output of almost 340,000 tons of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen per year,” she added.

The European Commission has said it looks for 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers to be installed in the EU by 2030.