The Scottish Government has made £7m ($9.2m) of funding available to kick start local green hydrogen projects with production capacities of 5-400MW.
The funding is expected to cover the development stage costs of selected projects, with support also available for work focused on the hydrogen supply chain and storage solutions.
Organisations will have until September 27 to apply for a maximum of £2m ($2.6m) of match-funding from the scheme, which has been co-developed with Scottish Enterprise, who will facilitate and manage the fund.
Acting Minister for Climate Action, Alasdair Allan, claimed the green hydrogen sector will play a “crucial role” in Scotland’s economy moving toward its Net Zero targets.
“This is due to our capability to generate so much renewable energy which is crucial to the process of making green hydrogen,” he explained.
“This funding – which will help support the development of green hydrogen projects and hydrogen hubs across the country, will, in time, help unlock opportunities in hydrogen for use and export and to power the clean energy-intensive industries of the future.”
Scottish Enterprise Director of Energy Transition, Suzanne Sosna, added, “This new fund will help new green hydrogen projects get off the ground, something that is critical if we are to build the new hydrogen economy as we aim to in Scotland.
“Renewable energy, including green hydrogen, has the potential to transform Scotland’s economy and Scottish Enterprise is fully committed to helping hydrogen production storage and offtake businesses as part of that.”
A Scottish Government-commissioned report released in May claimed that Scotland could meet 100% of Germany’s hydrogen import demand.
The Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) and Cruh21 report found that the nation could meet anywhere between 22% and 100% of Germany’s hydrogen import volumes by 2045.
The Net Zero Minister, Mairi McAllan told the Scottish Parliament that the 2030 target was “out of reach,” but stressed the country’s 2045 Net Zero goal will remain.
