The Gulen company receives almost one billion from the EU

(E24) The EU has announced 720 million euros in its first hydrogen auction. The Norwegian company Skiga is one of seven winners.

The company, which is based in Skipavika in Gulen municipality in Western Norway, has been granted financial support equivalent to NOK 963 million to produce renewable hydrogen, writes E24. The support is paid based on the confirmed number of kilograms produced.

– Fantastic

Both Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) and Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap) were quick to congratulate Skiga.

– This is fantastic news for the Norwegian hydrogen investment, says Aasland.

– It is gratifying to see that a Norwegian player is asserting itself internationally, says Bjelland Eriksen.

The hydrogen auction is the first in the EU’s hydrogen bank and is carried out as part of the EU’s Innovation Fund. The innovation fund is financed by the EU’s climate quota system, of which Norway is a part.

– This is a big day for Norwegian industry, says Astrid Lilliestråle in Enova, which is the national contact point for the innovation fund in Norway.

132 providers

The European Commission received 132 bids from 17 different countries in the hydrogen auction, and a total of 719 million euros was awarded to seven projects.

Of the other six companies that have been awarded support in the first round, three come from Spain, two from Portugal and one from Finland.

The EU will announce a new hydrogen auction later this year, the European Commission states.