Germany got European Union approval for a €3 billion plan to build out a hydrogen transmission network connecting several EU member countries.
The project will see Germany hand out loans to fund the repurposing of existing gas pipelines for hydrogen and building out new ones with the first expected to be up and running by 2025.
The German government will provide state guarantees to help transmission service operators get more favorable loans to cover initial losses. German expectations are that there will initially be only a few users for the network and tariffs may need to be offered below real costs to encourage takeup.
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Loans offered below market rates will come from the state-backed Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau to be repaid by 2055.
