Germany's economic ministry announced on Tuesday that it has granted a total of EUR 2.8 billion (USD 3.05 billion) in subsidies to 15 companies in energy-intensive industries to support their decarbonisation efforts, which include five green hydrogen projects.
The ministry stated, “Five of the funded companies plan to decarbonise their production processes using hydrogen, a key technology for the transition to a more sustainable industry.”
These companies were selected from a pool of 17 applicants, and the signed climate protection contracts are expected to yield savings of up to 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents over the next 15 years.
This funding was awarded as part of the first bidding round of Germany's Carbon Contracts for Difference programme, aimed at incentivising industrial companies to invest in climate-friendly production facilities. A second bidding round is scheduled for later in 2024, with plans to provide additional financing amounting to a low double-digit billion-euro figure.
Among the winners in the first round are BASF SE, Kimberley-Clark GmbH, and several units of Saint-Gobain, with the full list of recipients available on the ministry's website.
