The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has launched the procurement procedure for the import of green hydrogen under the H2Global programme. Minister Habeck commented on this today in Johannesburg, since the H2Global instrument can also play an important role in the development of the market in South Africa and Namibia, two countries he is currently visiting.

In December 2021, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action approved a €900 million funding instrument entitled H2Global. The idea is to purchase green hydrogen products cheaply on the world market and to sell them to the highest bidder in the EU. This will support the global market ramp-up of green hydrogen. The hydrogen exporters gain security for their investment decisions through long-term purchase contracts, and the importers gain access to green derivatives.

Federal Minister Habeck said: “We want to make Germany and Europe a lead market for green hydrogen. We are therefore launching a first auction procedure for the import of green hydrogen worth €900 million.”

To this end, a competitive bidding procedure will enable HINT.CO, an intermediary, to purchase hydrogen derivatives at the lowest possible price in contracts lasting ten years. The large purchase contracts incentivise investment in renewable energy and the production of hydrogen-based ammonia, methanol and sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF). The production must take place outside the EU and EFTA. The import prices are set via a transparent international competitive bidding procedure.

The first deliveries of these sustainable hydrogen derivatives to Germany and Europe are scheduled for the end of 2024. The H2Global auction process is the first global bidding procedure for the purchase of hydrogen and its derivatives. It will identify the world’s first market price for green hydrogen and its tradable derivatives.
In the 2023 federal budget, the Federal Government is planning to provide a further €3.5 billion for new auction rounds to cover periods up to 2036. The coalition agreement and the Immediate Climate Action Programme have also set out the goal of establishing H2Global as a European instrument. At the same time, the instrument has already been opened up to other European countries.
Companies and consortia can obtain the tender documents here: https://exficon.de/tad/current-tenders/

The H2Global Foundation
The non-profit H2Global Foundation (www.h2-global.de) exists to promote environmental protection and climate action. Its backers are leading German, European and international companies. The H2Global Foundation is engaging in various initiatives to foster the production and use of green hydrogen and other climate-neutral energy carriers, both nationally and internationally. The purchase and sales contracts are handled by the intermediary HINT.CO. HINT.CO GmbH is a subsidiary of the H2Global Foundation, which has been established by the private sector.

Progress was also made today on another hydrogen project: also in Johannesburg this morning, Minister Habeck presented Linde GmbH with a funding notice worth €15 million for the HyShiFT project. The company intends to build a 200 megawatt electrolyser in Mpumalanga, South Africa, to produce renewable hydrogen.. The climate-friendly gas is to subsequently used so that an existing plant to manufacture kerosene or power-to-liquid (PtL) fuels can be retrofitted to operate in a more environmentally friendly way. Some of the hydrogen produced via the project is then to be imported to Germany. Also, the team aims to drive the roll-out of capacity along the entire value chain of the manufacture of green hydrogen, and thus also boost related expertise in South Africa. The Economic Affairs and Climate Ministry is providing funding for the first phase of the project, in which a 40 MW electrolyser will be constructed.