Australia-Germany HyGATE funding opens; WACKER resubmits RHYME Bavaria for funding

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has opened its funding round for the German-Australian Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Incubator (HyGATE).

On behalf of the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, ARENA has teamed up with Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), through Project Management Jülich (PtJ), to administer HyGATE. The initiative will support real-world pilot, trial and demonstration projects along the hydrogen supply chain.

Australia and Germany have committed funding up to AU$50 million and €50 million, respectively, to the HyGATE initiative. The objective of HyGATE is to strengthen Australian-German cooperation on reducing the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable sources and to stimulate the innovation process in both countries.

HyGATE aims to bring together Australian and German industry and research partners to deliver new hydrogen projects, with the projects primarily occurring in Australia.

Eligible Australian organisations can apply for funding through ARENA, with this funding round supporting projects that deliver on one or more specified outcomes, including:

• Demonstrating highly innovative technology across the value chain of renewable hydrogen.
• Reducing the cost of hydrogen production, transport, storage and use, and supporting the commercial viability of renewable hydrogen.
• Developing an Australian-German supply chain for renewable hydrogen.
• Encouraging cross-country collaboration and knowledge sharing between Australian and German organisations.
• Providing price discovery and transparency in relation to the current and projected economics for renewable hydrogen technologies.

WACKER Resubmits RHYME Bavaria for European Union Funding

Wacker Chemie AG has re-applied for European Union funding to produce green hydrogen and renewable methanol at its Burghausen site. The WACKER Group had applied for funding from the European Commission’s EU Innovation Fund for its RHYME (Renewable Hydrogen and Methanol) Bavaria project in 2020. Despite being given an excellent rating by the jury, it could not qualify during the final stage.

The EU has now adjusted its selection criteria and increasing annual funding from €1 billion to €1.5 billion, which makes it possible to fund a medium-sized, albeit highly innovative project such as RHYME Bavaria. The resubmission of the project stands a good chance of receiving the necessary EU funding.

RHYME Bavaria refers to a 20 MW electrolysis plant that will produce hydrogen from water using renewable electricity.