The UK government has confirmed new hydrogen plans, while RWE says it has secured construction and environmental permits to build a 100 MW electrolyzer in the Netherlands.
The UK government said it is funding 11 new green hydrogen projects across England, Scotland, and Wales, which it claims will be among the first commercial-scale projects in the world. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the funding plan during in a fall 2024 budget speech, allocating GBP 3.9 billion ($5 billion) for green hydrogen producers and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) projects in the 2025-26 period. The government selected the projects, which have a cumulative capacity of 125 MW, in December 2023, as part of the first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1) that was launched in July 2022. The government awarded them contracts for difference at a weighted average strike price of GBP 241/MWh.
RWE has secured the necessary construction and environmental permits to build a 100 MW electrolyzer in Eemshaven, the Netherlands. “If built, the electrolyzer will contribute to the onshore energy system integration plans associated with the 795 MW OranjeWind offshore wind project in the Dutch North Sea, which RWE is realising together with its joint venture partner TotalEnergies,” said RWE.
Hyundai Motor has unveiled a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) concept. The South Korean automotive company has equipped the car with aerodynamic wheels to reduce drag wrapped in low rolling resistance tires “for a targeted driving range of more than 650 km between refueling.” The electric motor output is up to 150 kW. The car's production version is set to launch in the first half of 2025.
Masdar appears to have delayed its target of producing 1 million tons of green hydrogen from 2030 to 2034, according to a Bloomberg report that the company's press office has neither confirmed or denied. “We remain committed to supporting the objectives set out under the UAE's National Hydrogen Strategy, as well as to delivering on our ambitions of becoming a leading green hydrogen producer globally by 2030,” the company told pv magazine. It said in a recent about the completion of a pilot project that uses green hydrogen to produce green steel in the United Arab Emirates, which it aims to achieve within a decade.