The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an Important Project of Common European Interest (\u2018IPCEI’) to support research and innovation and the first industrial deployment in the hydrogen technology value chain. The project, named\u00a0\u2018IPCEI Hy2Tech\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>was jointly prepared and notified by 15 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain.<\/p>\n The Member States will provide up to \u20ac5.4bn in public funding, which is expected to unlock an additional \u20ac8.8bn in private investments. As part of this IPCEI, 35 companies with activities in one or more Member States, including small and medium-sized enterprises (\u2018SMEs’) and start-ups, will participate in 41 projects.<\/p>\n \u201cHydrogen has a huge potential going forward. It is an indispensable component for the diversification of energy sources and the green transition,\u201d commented Executive Vice-President, Margrethe\u00a0Vestager, in charge of competition policy. \u201cInvesting in such innovative technologies can, however, be risky for one Member State or one company alone.\u00a0This is where state aid rules for IPCEI have a role to play. Today’s project is an example of truly ambitious European cooperation for a key common objective. It also shows how competition policy works hand in hand with breakthrough innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry\u00a0Breton\u00a0added: \u201cPromoting hydrogen development and deployment will boost jobs and growth throughout Europe while contributing to our green and resilience agenda. It enables the clean transition of energy-intensive industries and increases our independence from fossil fuels. With this IPCEI, we see EU hydrogen production moving \u2018from lab to fab\u2019; and our industry turning technological mastery into commercial leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd of course, we are not only supporting hydrogen through funding. We have also made decisive progress on building partnerships through the Clean Hydrogen Alliance and are developing EU-wide rules for enabling the hydrogen market and creating dedicated infrastructure. Because we know what is at stake: Europe’s position as a leading region for the hydrogen industrial transformation.\u201d<\/p>\nPromoting hydrogen development and deployment<\/h3>\n
Boosting the hydrogen technology value chain: An Important Project of Common European Interest<\/h3>\n
The IPCEI will cover a wide part of the hydrogen technology value chain, including:<\/h4>\n