On 15 February, the EU Commission granted approval for the IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) of the "Hy2Infra" notification wave in accordance with EU state aid regulations. The two hydrogen projects "doing hydrogen" and "Green Octopus Mitteldeutschland", which are part of the ONTRAS H2 start-up network, are thus part of the now notified projects. This means that both projects can benefit from national funding.
The ONTRAS H2 starter grid comprises a pipeline system of around 900 km for the market ramp-up in eastern and central Germany, which connects producers, storage facilities and consumers of green H2 and provides important access to import points. As part of the Germany-wide H2 core network (draft application), it also connects key economic centres in central and eastern Germany with the European hydrogen network (European Hydrogen Backbone).
"Doing hydrogen" and "Green Octopus Mitteldeutschland" as well as the LHyVe project, which was still run separately at the time, prevailed in the expression of interest procedure and were selected as IPCEI by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) in 2021. In December 2022, ONTRAS was able to start the planning work for these projects following the approval of the early start of measures.
"The rapid development of a functioning hydrogen infrastructure is essential for the hydrogen market ramp-up", says Ralph Bahke, ONTRAS Managing Director Steering and Development. "With the positive decision, the EU Commission is recognising the committed efforts of the companies to get a future-proof infrastructure up and running. ONTRAS is in the starting blocks and we are delighted to have reached this important milestone."
(Quelle: ONTRAS)