Green Fuels for Denmark, a project led by Danish clean energy group Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED), was on Friday awarded an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) status by the European Commission, which is an approval for state aid.
This is one of two Power-to-X projects shortlisted by the Danish government to receive a total of DKK 850 million (USD 115m/EUR 114m) of funding if recognised as IPCEI.
Ørsted said the funding will support the development of the first phases of the project. Green Fuels for Denmark ultimately targets 1,300 MW of electrolysis capacity in Copenhagen.
The phases are in the table below as described by Ørsted:
| |
Cumulative capacity |
Expected start-up |
Annual production |
| Phase 1 |
10 MW |
2023 |
1,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen for heavy road transport |
| Phase 2a |
100 MW |
2025 |
Over 50,000 tonnes of mainly e-methanol for shipping and enough e-kerosene to fuel Denmark’s first green domestic air connection |
| Phase 2b |
300-350 MW |
2027 |
More than 100,000 tonnes in total of e-methanol and e-kerosene |
| Phase 3 |
1,300 MW |
-- |
275,000 tonnes of renewable fuels |
Ørsted is partnering on the project with off-takers in heavy road transport, shipping and aviation -- DSV, Maersk, DFDS, Copenhagen Airports, and SAS. Everfuel is also among those involved as the distributor of green hydrogen for road transportation.
“IPCEI is a key enabler for creating a green and energy independent Europe, as it will unlock substantial amounts of funding to mature the Power-to-X industry, a central alternative to imported fossil fuels,” said Olivia Breese, senior vice president and head of P2X of Ørsted. She added that the scale-up of Power-to-X is dependent on the availability of large-scale renewable electricity and called on European governments to speed up wind and solar deployments.
The European Commission on Friday awarded IPCEI status to 35 companies and 41 projects concerning the hydrogen value chain, essentially authorising up to EUR 5.4 billion of total state aid.
The Danish energy group said that three other Ørsted projects have been shortlisted in the IPCEI process as well. These are Haddock in the Netherlands in partnership with Yara, HySCALE100 in Germany with several partners, and Lingen Green Hydrogen in Germany in partnership with bp. The IPCEI notification process is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
(DKK 1 = USD 0.135/EUR 0.134)
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Hydrogen tanks. Source: US Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
