The European Commission has approved German plans to invest €3bn in a national hydrogen distribution system.
The Hydrogen Core Network (HCN) will supply Germany and connect with a European market.
The first pipeline is expected to be operational in 2025, with the full network ready for 2032.
To pay for it, state development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau will lend at preferential rates to system operators selected by the Bundesnetzagentur, the agency for state network infrastructure.
The money will be spent on repurposing natural gas pipelines, building new ones, and building compressor stations.
The EU had to assess how this major state-funded intervention would affect competition.
Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said a core hydrogen network was a necessary first step in developing the hydrogen market.
“The German scheme approved today will significantly contribute to the development of a European hydrogen market while minimising any potential distortions to competition,” she said.
To begin with, Germany expects only a small number of consumers to be using the network, and the tariffs and repayments will be kept low to encourage involvement in the emerging hydrogen ecosystem.
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