“ELY” Funding Program to Support Hydrogen Production in Baden-Württemberg
The Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector is supporting the local production of renewable hydrogen through water electrolysis with the new “ELY” funding program. The aim is to achieve a sufficient nationwide supply of hydrogen in the medium term and to secure the competitiveness of Baden-Württemberg companies.
“Green hydrogen is a key factor in meeting climate protection targets and has become an integral part of the energy transition. The nationwide survey we conducted has shown that the demand for renewable hydrogen is growing faster and is significantly higher than previously assumed,” says Energy Minister Thekla Walker at the launch of the funding program. “It is important that we don’t just rely on the planned large hydrogen networks, but also build local infrastructures in good time. That’s why I campaigned in the budget negotiations to ensure that we can continue to support the regional hydrogen ramp-up with over 100 million euros. I am very pleased that we have succeeded in launching this funding program.”
On October 22, 2024, the Federal Network Agency approved the transmission system operators’ application for the nationwide hydrogen core grid. This is an important signal for the hydrogen ramp-up, which is also attracting international attention.However, the core grid does not cover all regions of Baden-Württemberg. “To ensure that we can cover necessary and time-critical hydrogen requirements wherever possible, it is necessary to invest in local production capacities now and thus establish the value chains in good time,” said the Minister.
In future, the Ministry of Energy will therefore be promoting the construction of local electrolysers with integrated concepts for the production of renewable hydrogen for regional supply. The focus here is on the establishment of hydrogen hubs in Baden-Württemberg. The electrolysers and hydrogen hubs are to be built or expanded as far as possible in line with the regional expansion of the electricity grid and the regional expansion of renewable energy plants (RE plants). The parallel construction and expansion is of great importance for the energy transition and the achievement of climate protection targets in Baden-Württemberg.
Source: https://um.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/presse-service/presse/pressemitteilung/pid/land-foerdert-regionale-erzeugung-von-wasserstoff-mit-100-millionen-euro
