The Dutch government has agreed to fund a €300mn ($327mn) auction window through the German-led H2Global initiative to import green hydrogen derivatives. The Austrian and Belgian governments are also in talks to join the initiative, H2Global CEO Timo Bollerhey tells Hydrogen Economist.

“The European Commission also remains interested in utilising H2Global as a green hydrogen auction platform,” he adds.

The Dutch participation is the first investment from another state into the €4.5bn H2Global initiative, which has been backed by the German government since 2021 but which aims to expand into a Europe-wide green hydrogen trading system.

€900mn – German budget for first three H2Global tenders

“The Netherlands and Germany have agreed to synchronise their respective funding windows during the next tender in terms of the funding amount made available, design, volume and structure,” the Dutch ministry of economics and climate policy tells Hydrogen Economist.

Through its subsidiary Hintco, H2Global will conclude long-term purchasing contracts on the supply-side and short-term sales contracts on the demand side. Based on a contracts-for-difference mechanism, the price gap between suppliers and buyers will then be covered by Hintco using the governments’ funding in the respective auction windows.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and German chancellor Olaf Scholz struck the agreement at a government consultation in late March that emphasised the nations’ commitment to collaborating on developing a green hydrogen market.

“We agreed on the next steps for the Netherlands' participation in the H2Global initiative and will develop a common vision on hydrogen import policies as well as a joint roadmap along the value chain,” the governments stated in a joint declaration. The Dutch funding remains subject to EU state aid and Dutch parliamentary approval.

H2Global’s Hintco launched its first auction for the import of green ammonia in December and has since initiated two more tenders for green methanol and eSAF (sustainable aviation fuel). The German government has earmarked up to €900mn to help bridge the funding gaps across the first three tenders between 2024 and 2033. To qualify for the auctions, the products must be made outside the EU and European Free Trade Association, with a first stage of the tendering process eliminating unsuitable bids.

Some of the companies that have joined H2Global include major BP, utilities RWE and Engie, industrial gases companies Air Liquide and Linde, and technology firm Hydrogenious.

Germany and the Netherlands both have ambitious hydrogen strategies, counting on the sustainably produced version of the fuel to help decarbonise hard-to-abate industries and to act as a replacement for Russian gas, which both countries have relied on heavily in the past.

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Author: Karolin Schaps